ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,749 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 423 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in ASML were worth $5,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of ASML by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at $1,174,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in ASML by 5.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,323,000 after buying an additional 7,010 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,322 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,243,000 after acquiring an additional 7,073 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 104.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $731.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $731.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $736.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $287.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $645.45 and a 52 week high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. On average, equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.