Beacon Financial Group Purchases Shares of 398 ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Beacon Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 398 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ASML by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in ASML during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,758,000. UNICOM Systems Inc. acquired a new position in ASML during the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,565,000. New Republic Capital LLC lifted its stake in ASML by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 559 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 11,774 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,161,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of ASML stock opened at $756.17 on Thursday. 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. The company has a market cap of $297.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $726.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $764.28.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

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.