Fisher Funds Management LTD Purchases Shares of 198,478 ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 198,478 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,386,000. ASML comprises 3.3% of Fisher Funds Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in ASML during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of ASML by 227.3% during the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 46.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in ASML by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. reduced 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

ASML stock opened at $737.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $289.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $732.62 and its 200-day moving average is $758.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $645.45 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Equities research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued 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 payout ratio is currently 25.67%.

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.