Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Acquires 351 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 44.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,139 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ASML. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of ASML by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,239,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31,231 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $868,324,000 after buying an additional 33,603 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in ASML by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 807,257 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $559,494,000 after buying an additional 281,156 shares in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its position in ASML by 4.0% during the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $553,361,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in ASML by 4,880.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $247,019,000 after acquiring an additional 328,552 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $674.58 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $727.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $731.53. The company has a market cap of $265.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas started 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.