HighTower Advisors LLC Has $75.69 Million Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,207 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 672 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $75,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 4,880.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $247,019,000 after acquiring an additional 328,552 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth about $175,257,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth about $137,386,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 156,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,601,000 after acquiring an additional 115,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 126.4% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 148,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $123,635,000 after acquiring an additional 82,836 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Up 1.9 %

ASML stock opened at $703.37 on Thursday. 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 50 day moving average price of $733.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $742.38. The firm has a market cap of $276.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.