Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,064 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 479 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASML. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of ASML by 1.8% in 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. Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 4.0% in the third 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 grew its stake in shares of ASML by 4,880.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 16.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 258,638 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,530,000 after acquiring an additional 35,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth about $175,257,000. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Up 0.3 %

ASML opened at $669.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $721.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $729.09. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $645.45 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share 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 given a $1.5855 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ASML shares. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML currently 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.