Neuberger Berman Group LLC Raises Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 13,115 shares during the period. ASML makes up approximately 0.5% of Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $667,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its position in ASML by 227.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 740.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of ASML by 133.3% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 15.4 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $687.26 on Thursday. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $578.51 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market cap of $270.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $709.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $721.15. 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 (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.