ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Purchased by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in ASML were worth $34,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in ASML by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 7,250 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,488,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK purchased a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter worth $211,000. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter worth $5,298,000. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter worth $386,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASML opened at $954.82 on Tuesday. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $563.99 and a 52 week high of $1,056.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $376.76 billion, a PE ratio of 44.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $959.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $787.55.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a return on equity of 68.32% and a net margin of 28.44%. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $1.343 dividend. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. ASML’s payout ratio is 24.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASML. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. HSBC began coverage on ASML in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Company 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.