Banco Santander S.A. Has $2.63 Million Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 87.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in ASML by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 3.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,855,624,000 after buying an additional 70,776 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in ASML by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,239,421,000 after buying an additional 31,231 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its stake in ASML by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after acquiring an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of ASML by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 402,758 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $335,598,000 after acquiring an additional 50,115 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML opened at $732.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $645.45 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market cap of $288.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $733.25 and its 200-day moving average is $747.14.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Company Profile

ASML Holding N.V. develops, produces, markets, sells, and services advanced semiconductor equipment systems for chipmakers. It offers advanced semiconductor equipment systems, including lithography, metrology, and inspection systems. The company also provides extreme ultraviolet lithography systems; and deep ultraviolet lithography systems comprising immersion and dry lithography solutions to manufacture various range of semiconductor nodes and technologies.