ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lowered its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,151 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 764 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $10,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank grew its position in ASML by 227.3% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 740.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ASML during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in ASML by 133.3% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on 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 ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $674.58 on Friday. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $727.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $732.14. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $265.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.