Leavell Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 178 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ASML. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in ASML by 1.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,879 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,855,624,000 after buying an additional 70,776 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of ASML by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after buying an additional 474,653 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 4.0% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after acquiring an additional 25,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in ASML by 94,079.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,096,410,000 after acquiring an additional 491,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ ASML opened at $756.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $297.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $726.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $764.28.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.83%.

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.