Virtu Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC reduced its stake in ASML Holding N.V. by 12% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 6,746 shares valued at approximately $4.47 million.
• ASML reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $4.55 compared to the consensus of $5.94, despite a revenue increase of 23.2% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.856 per share, reflecting a 1.0% yield and a payout ratio of 26.21%.

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,746 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 924 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in ASML were worth $4,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 322.2% in the 1st quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASML. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on 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. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $923.80.

ASML Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ ASML traded down $1.01 on Monday, reaching $721.31. 1,178,815 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,750,960. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $758.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $724.37. The company has a market cap of $283.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.76. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.94 by ($1.39). The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.72 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.01 earnings per share. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $1.856 dividend. This represents a $7.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This is a positive change from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. ASML's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.17%.

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.