Clearbridge Investments LLC Purchases 33,603 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 33,603 shares during the quarter. ASML makes up about 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $868,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank increased its position in ASML by 227.3% during the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its stake in ASML by 740.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in shares of ASML by 133.3% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. 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. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASML opened at $674.58 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $727.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $732.01. The firm has a market cap of $265.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.