Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Buys 958 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,250 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.'s holdings in ASML were worth $5,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,516 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $5,013,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Savoie Capital LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,658,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 48,040.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 245,999 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $186,202,000 after acquiring an additional 245,488 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in shares of ASML by 69.2% in the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 11,529 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,787,000 after acquiring an additional 4,716 shares during the period. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 219.0% during the 4th quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 3,158 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Trading Down 1.0 %

ASML stock traded down $9.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $892.32. The stock had a trading volume of 860,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,865. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $563.99 and a twelve month high of $1,056.34. The firm has a market cap of $352.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.57, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $956.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $801.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.343 per share. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. ASML's payout ratio is 27.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Redburn Atlantic raised ASML from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. HSBC started coverage on ASML in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ASML has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Company 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.