TCW Group Inc. Sells 18,743 Shares of ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

TCW Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 18,743 shares during the period. ASML makes up about 1.8% of TCW Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $263,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of ASML by 195.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,544,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,652,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,532 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 223.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 287,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $379,368,000 after acquiring an additional 198,505 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in ASML by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,526,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,633,046,000 after acquiring an additional 193,068 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in ASML by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 849,602 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $822,492,000 after acquiring an additional 148,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ASML by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 669,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $716,790,000 after purchasing an additional 140,821 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ASML shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on ASML from $2,200.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on ASML from $1,700.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ASML from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,970.33.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of ASML opened at $1,844.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,781.65 and a 200 day moving average of $1,567.15. The company has a market capitalization of $725.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.79. ASML Holding N.V. has a 12 month low of $716.20 and a 12 month high of $1,999.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, June 28th. The semiconductor company reported $8.65 earnings per share for the quarter. ASML had a return on equity of 52.71% and a net margin of 30.11%.The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 44.85 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $2.1507 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $8.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.62%.

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.