Aristides Capital LLC Takes Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,663,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its position in shares of ASML by 227.3% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its stake in ASML by 740.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $605.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $716.73 and its 200 day moving average is $726.43. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $597.69 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML 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.