ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,167 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 465 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in ASML were worth $2,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of ASML by 227.3% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 740.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in ASML in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ASML shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $906.00.

ASML Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ASML traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $677.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,280,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,638,160. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $266.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $687.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $707.51. ASML Holding has a fifty-two week low of $578.51 and a fifty-two week high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

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.