Moors & Cabot Inc. Decreases Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Moors & Cabot Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,145 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 4,880.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $247,019,000 after acquiring an additional 328,552 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in ASML during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $175,257,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in ASML during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $137,386,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised 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 buying an additional 115,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 126.4% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 148,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $123,635,000 after buying an additional 82,836 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASML has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $714.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $645.45 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $733.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $740.87. The company has a market capitalization of $280.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its 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 forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid 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 payout ratio 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.