William Blair Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,892 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $3,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its position in shares of ASML by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in ASML by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $772,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in ASML by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 909 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of ASML opened at $734.91 on Thursday. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $645.45 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09. The company has a market capitalization of $289.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $731.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $736.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

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.