Blue Trust Inc. Sells 239 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of ASML by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,010 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of ASML by 58.9% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,044 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,926,000. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 203.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,473,000 after buying an additional 2,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in ASML by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 823,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $484,961,000 after buying an additional 32,501 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML traded up $3.07 on Friday, hitting $1,074.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 771,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,943. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $563.99 and a 1 year high of $1,082.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $423.98 billion, a PE ratio of 54.88, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $980.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $917.60.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The semiconductor company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th were given a $1.343 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASML has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,043.00.

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.