ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Position Increased by Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd.

Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 63.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. ASML comprises approximately 3.4% of Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd.’s holdings in ASML were worth $6,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 34.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,108 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 6.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,472 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,553 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,460,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in ASML by 2.9% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new stake in ASML in the third quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML stock opened at $705.76 on Thursday. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $645.45 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $730.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $732.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $277.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML currently has an average 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.