World Equity Group Inc. Sells 12 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

World Equity Group Inc. cut its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 283 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 12 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 41.1% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,457 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of ASML by 169.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,661,000 after acquiring an additional 14,682 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of ASML by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 45,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,389,000 after acquiring an additional 13,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth about $761,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML traded down $9.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $918.66. 804,217 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,234,781. The company’s 50 day moving average is $973.85 and its 200 day moving average is $954.47. ASML Holding has a one year low of $563.99 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.49 billion, a PE ratio of 46.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $1.8732 per share. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASML. Barclays upgraded shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,147.80.

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.