Holderness Investments Co. Sells 210 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Holderness Investments Co. cut its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 460 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in ASML were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ASML by 104.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in ASML by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,108 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in ASML by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,589 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of ASML by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 856 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

ASML opened at $734.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $645.45 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market cap of $288.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.29, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $731.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $736.43.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. As a group, analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ASML shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective 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 raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.