Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 404,326 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 39.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 621,756 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 404,326 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.16% of ASML worth $430,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in shares of ASML by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. increased its position in shares of ASML by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Quarterback LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Up 0.3 %

ASML stock opened at $669.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $263.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $645.45 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $721.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $729.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 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, equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

About ASML

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.