Merit Financial Group LLC Lowers Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 742 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASML. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 200.0% during the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of ASML by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 220.0% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 35.4% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. HSBC started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,036.00.

ASML Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:ASML opened at $908.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $563.99 and a 12 month high of $1,056.34. The company has a market cap of $358.37 billion, a PE ratio of 46.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $949.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $821.79.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $1.343 per share. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.53%.

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.