Pennant Investors LP Sells 2,200 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Pennant Investors LP lessened its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 33.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,300 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. ASML accounts for 0.8% of Pennant Investors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Pennant Investors LP’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Edgewood Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,208,615,000 after purchasing an additional 959,696 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in ASML by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,239,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31,231 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $868,324,000 after purchasing an additional 33,603 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in ASML by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $667,155,000 after buying an additional 13,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in ASML by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $622,769,000 after buying an additional 46,028 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASML has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $906.00.

ASML Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $624.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $245.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $578.51 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $694.88 and a 200 day moving average of $710.36.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.12 by $0.19. ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.90 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 27.48%.

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.