Marietta Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,440 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 509 shares during the quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ASML. DE Burlo Group Inc. grew its stake in ASML by 65.3% during the 1st quarter. DE Burlo Group Inc. now owns 34,860 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,099,000 after purchasing an additional 13,765 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the 1st quarter worth about $2,216,000. AM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the 1st quarter worth about $2,927,000. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 104.2% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 10,279 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,811,000 after purchasing an additional 5,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westover Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut ASML from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, New Street Research upgraded ASML from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $923.80.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $711.25 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $765.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $727.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. ASML Holding N.V. has a 12-month low of $578.51 and a 12-month high of $945.05. The company has a market cap of $279.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.73.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by ($1.39). ASML had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 26.95%. The business had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a $1.856 dividend. This represents a $7.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 26.34%.

ASML Company 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.