ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Purchased by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 148.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,432 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 9,810 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $11,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kennebec Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 227.3% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its stake in ASML by 740.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

ASML Stock Performance

ASML opened at $705.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $277.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $730.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $732.96. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $645.45 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is 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.