Primecap Management Co. CA Trims Stock Position in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in ASML Holding N.V. by 2.9%, selling 15,700 shares, leaving them with 530,609 shares valued at approximately $351.6 million.
• Recent analyst activity includes Jefferies downgrading ASML from a "buy" to a "hold," while Wells Fargo increased their price target from $840 to $890, highlighting a mixed outlook for the stock.
• ASML declared a quarterly dividend of $1.856, increasing from the previous $1.64, with a dividend yield of 1.1% set for payment on August 6th.

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its position in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 530,609 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 15,700 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.13% of ASML worth $351,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 938 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in ASML by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in ASML by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,698 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $11,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,217 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in ASML by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 24,554 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $17,018,000 after purchasing an additional 5,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shelton Capital Management raised its stake in shares of ASML by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 12,402 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,596,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASML traded up $22.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $713.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,721,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,560,348. The stock has a market cap of $280.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $758.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $725.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.43. ASML Holding N.V. has a 12-month low of $578.51 and a 12-month high of $945.05.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.94 by ($1.39). The business had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.72 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 49.47%. ASML's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a dividend of $1.856 per share. This is an increase from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $923.80.

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.