LPL Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 171,269 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,971 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $119,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASML. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 1.0% in 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 buying an additional 31,879 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,239,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31,231 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its position in ASML by 4.0% during the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after purchasing an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in ASML by 4,880.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $247,019,000 after purchasing an additional 328,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of ASML by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 258,638 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,530,000 after buying an additional 35,926 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ASML shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Up 1.6 %

ASML opened at $727.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $645.45 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The company has a market cap of $286.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $730.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $733.34.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $1.5855 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

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.