Sfmg LLC Decreases Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Sfmg LLC lessened its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 31 shares during the quarter. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 229,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $153,573,000 after purchasing an additional 29,290 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,391 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,230,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,266 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter valued at $264,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 426 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. HSBC started coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Five investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Trading Down 7.1 %

NASDAQ ASML opened at $907.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $358.13 billion, a PE ratio of 42.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.48. ASML Holding has a one year low of $563.99 and a one year high of $1,056.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $960.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $791.11.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The company 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%. Analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.4 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $1.343 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.59%.

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.