ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Stake Raised by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,742 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,816 shares during the quarter. ASML comprises 1.4% of Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in ASML were worth $21,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 220.0% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASML. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. HSBC began coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of ASML from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,036.00.

ASML Price Performance

ASML traded up $16.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $918.97. 864,168 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,237,589. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $362.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.93, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.48. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $563.99 and a 52-week high of $1,056.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $955.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $804.52.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.34 billion. ASML had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 56.99%. On average, equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $1.343 dividend. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.02%.

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.