LGT Group Foundation Takes $324,000 Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

LGT Group Foundation acquired a new position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 467 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth about $137,386,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 156,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,601,000 after acquiring an additional 115,603 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in ASML by 126.4% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 148,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $123,635,000 after acquiring an additional 82,836 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 2,825.3% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 84,191 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,351,000 after purchasing an additional 81,313 shares during the period. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 3.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,855,624,000 after purchasing an additional 70,776 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASML opened at $708.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $278.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $645.45 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $732.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $750.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASML has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.