American Century Companies Inc. Sells 824 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 62,574 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 824 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $43,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its position in ASML by 227.3% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 740.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in ASML by 133.3% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Trading Down 2.1 %

ASML opened at $690.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $645.45 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $729.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $732.67.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

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.