The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 19.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 145,726 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 35,481 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in ASML were worth $121,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hilltop National Bank increased its stake in ASML by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 975 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of ASML by 1.1% during the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 2.8% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial grew its position in shares of ASML by 1.1% during the second quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,121 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders grew its position in shares of ASML by 0.6% during the second quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $671.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $264.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.18, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $645.45 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $739.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $870.11.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. Research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $970.60.

ASML Profile

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.