MJP Associates Inc. ADV Lowers Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV trimmed its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in ASML were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in ASML by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in ASML by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 220.0% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Raymond James upped their target price on ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on ASML from $726.00 to $878.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of ASML from $950.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $962.60.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASML traded down $3.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $970.47. The stock had a trading volume of 679,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,062. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $924.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $751.81. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $563.99 and a 52 week high of $1,056.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $382.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 68.32% and a net margin of 28.44%. On average, research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $1.343 dividend. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.59%.

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.