HighTower Advisors LLC Has $75.69 Million Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,207 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 672 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $75,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 132.3% in the fourth quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter worth $3,188,000. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Davis R M Inc. raised its position in ASML by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 52,285 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,238,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in ASML by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 82,646 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,280,000 after acquiring an additional 17,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of 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. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 1.9 %

ASML stock opened at $703.37 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $733.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $742.38. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $645.45 and a 52 week high of $1,110.09. The company has a market capitalization of $276.72 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 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.