Thomas Story & Son LLC Increases Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Thomas Story & Son LLC increased its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,358 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. ASML comprises approximately 1.2% of Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its holdings in ASML by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 126 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Slow Capital Inc. raised its stake in ASML by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 4,407 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,336,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in ASML by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its stake in ASML by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 478 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allred Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ASML by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 1,080 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML traded down $24.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,027.90. 1,047,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 956,468. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $947.08 and a 200-day moving average of $884.14. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $563.99 and a 52 week high of $1,077.22. The stock has a market cap of $405.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.50, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The semiconductor company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.54. ASML had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. On average, analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th were given a dividend of $1.343 per share. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 32.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ASML shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. HSBC started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,036.00.

ASML 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.