BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Trims Stake in ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Asset Management reduced its stake in ASML Holding N.V. by 18.5%, selling 9,630 shares and ending with a total of 42,327 shares valued at approximately $28 million.
• ASML's stock recently reported earnings per share of $4.55 for the last quarter, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $5.94, although revenue surpassed estimates at $8.94 billion.
• The company declared a dividend increase to $1.856 per share, representing a yield of 1.0%, with an annualized payout now amounting to $7.42.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,327 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 9,630 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.'s holdings in ASML were worth $28,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Putney Financial Group LLC grew its position in ASML by 322.2% in the 1st quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in ASML in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

ASML Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $742.16 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $291.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. ASML Holding N.V. has a 12-month low of $578.51 and a 12-month high of $945.05. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $757.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $725.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. ASML's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.01 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ASML shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. New Street Research raised ASML from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $923.80.

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.

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