ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,123 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 23,386 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in ASML were worth $90,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank increased its stake in ASML by 227.3% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its stake in ASML by 740.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in ASML by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $906.00.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of ASML stock traded down $10.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $748.10. 1,090,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,145. The stock has a market cap of $294.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.75. The stock's fifty day moving average is $683.78 and its 200 day moving average is $703.59. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $578.51 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.90 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

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.