Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Increases Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 34.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,752 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in ASML were worth $4,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 5.0% during the first quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in ASML by 2.5% in the first quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,188 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,112,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank lifted its holdings in ASML by 34.0% in the first quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 27,870 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $18,467,000 after buying an additional 7,064 shares during the period. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. boosted its position in ASML by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 841 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of ASML traded down $25.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $761.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,742,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,681,968. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $578.51 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $710.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $714.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.12 by $0.19. ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.90 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $906.00.

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.