Ninety One North America Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Ninety One North America Inc. boosted its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,535 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $4,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in ASML by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 126 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Slow Capital Inc. grew its stake in ASML by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 4,407 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,336,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in ASML by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,634 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 478 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML stock traded down $18.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $889.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,026,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,320. The firm has a market cap of $350.95 billion, a PE ratio of 41.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $563.99 and a 12 month high of $1,056.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $960.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $791.11.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. ASML had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 68.32%. On average, analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $1.343 dividend. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ASML shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,036.00.

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.