Scotia Capital Inc. Has $45.51 Million Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 65,666 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 5,598 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $45,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASML opened at $687.26 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $709.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $721.15. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $578.51 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The stock has a market cap of $270.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.04, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share 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, equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASML has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

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.