National Bank of Canada FI Sells 248,150 Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI significantly reduced its stake in ASML Holding N.V. by 82.6%, holding 52,251 shares worth approximately $34.64 million after selling 248,150 shares during the 1st quarter.
• ASML's quarterly earnings report showed a miss on EPS at $4.55, compared to the estimated $5.94, but a revenue increase to $8.94 billion, beating expectations.
• The company has recently increased its dividend to $1.856 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of about 1.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 26.21%.

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its position in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 82.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,251 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 248,150 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in ASML were worth $34,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in ASML by 12.3% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 402 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in ASML by 12.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,407 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,571,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in ASML by 1.6% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its position in ASML by 2.4% in the first quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 19,483 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $12,910,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in ASML by 2.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,418 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,806,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASML has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna decreased their target price on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of ASML from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Seven equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $923.80.

ASML Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ASML traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $721.31. 1,178,815 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,750,960. The company has a market cap of $283.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $758.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $724.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.81. ASML Holding N.V. has a 52 week low of $578.51 and a 52 week high of $945.05.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $8.94 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $7.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.17%.

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.