ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,345 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 247 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in ASML were worth $4,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in ASML by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at $1,174,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of ASML by 5.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,323,000 after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in ASML by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,322 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,243,000 after buying an additional 7,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in ASML by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,759 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,764,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $667.34 on Wednesday. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $645.45 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $723.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $729.51.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s 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.