Haverford Trust Co Decreases Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Haverford Trust Co lessened its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,712 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,547 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in ASML were worth $20,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASML. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 1.0% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,654,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,879 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,239,421,000 after buying an additional 31,231 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $553,361,000 after acquiring an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in ASML by 4,880.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $247,019,000 after purchasing an additional 328,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of ASML by 16.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 258,638 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,530,000 after purchasing an additional 35,926 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $716.22 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $281.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $730.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $733.81. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $645.45 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on ASML shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

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.