Madison Investment Advisors LLC Invests $14.76 Million in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 21,296 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,760,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASML. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its holdings in ASML by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in ASML by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in ASML by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of ASML by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 909 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASML. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML opened at $703.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $276.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $733.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $742.38. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $645.45 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. On average, equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

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.