Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Boosts Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. raised its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,998 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. ASML makes up about 0.8% of Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in ASML were worth $7,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 200.0% during the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 220.0% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of ASML by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 35.4% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 7,300.0% during the third quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ASML shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Price Performance

NASDAQ ASML traded up $29.52 on Tuesday, reaching $901.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 989,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,248,775. The firm has a market cap of $355.75 billion, a PE ratio of 46.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $957.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $798.76. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $563.99 and a 52 week high of $1,056.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. ASML had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 56.99%. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.31 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. ASML’s payout ratio is 27.02%.

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.