Saratoga Research & Investment Management Sells 516 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Saratoga Research & Investment Management reduced its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,077 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 516 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in ASML by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 636 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter valued at $239,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in ASML by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 98 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of ASML by 76.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 143,967 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,972,000 after purchasing an additional 62,205 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,147.80.

ASML Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $841.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.52. ASML Holding has a fifty-two week low of $563.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,110.09. The company has a market cap of $332.06 billion, a PE ratio of 42.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $855.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $933.38.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 26.50%. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $1.8732 dividend. This represents a $7.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.50%.

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.