Sterling Capital Management LLC Grows Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,523 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of ASML by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on 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 price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $668.81 on Monday. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $578.51 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.15, 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 $706.22 and its 200-day moving average is $718.04.

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%. Equities analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.