Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Reduces Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,918,871 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 614,933 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.74% of ASML worth $2,023,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ASML. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 83,968 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $58,106,000 after purchasing an additional 19,851 shares in the last quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ASML by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC now owns 21,105 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $14,627,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its position in ASML by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 692,152 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $479,717,000 after buying an additional 46,397 shares during the period. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ASML by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 6,823 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,729,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its position in ASML by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 38,515 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,694,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Trading Up 0.3 %

ASML stock traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $677.27. 1,280,834 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,641,265. 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 Holding has a 12 month low of $578.51 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $687.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $705.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.90 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This is a positive change from ASML's previous dividend of $1.08. ASML's payout ratio is currently 27.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASML shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of 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 upgraded shares of ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $906.00.

ASML Company 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.