HM Payson & Co. Sells 9,597 Shares of ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

HM Payson & Co. decreased its holdings in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,631 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 9,597 shares during the period. ASML comprises approximately 1.4% of HM Payson & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in ASML were worth $95,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 5.2% in the first quarter. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 1st quarter worth about $1,376,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in ASML by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 5,175 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,429,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in ASML by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,872 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in ASML during the first quarter worth approximately $521,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ASML Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of ASML opened at $1,072.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.70. ASML Holding N.V. has a one year low of $578.51 and a one year high of $1,141.72. The company has a market cap of $421.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,052.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $899.05.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a return on equity of 47.74% and a net margin of 27.08%.The business had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.28 EPS. ASML’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were paid a $1.857 dividend. This represents a $7.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ASML. Bank Degroof downgraded ASML to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on ASML from $1,175.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, October 10th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,171.83.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.