Primecap Management Co. CA Cuts Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 546,309 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.14% of ASML worth $378,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,994,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,323,000 after buying an additional 7,010 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,322 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,243,000 after buying an additional 7,073 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ASML. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Two equities 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML opened at $730.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $287.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $732.25 and a 200-day moving average of $737.67. 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 52 week low of $645.45 and a 52 week high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $1.5855 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

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.