Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. Sells 26 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lessened its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,144 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. ASML comprises about 1.9% of Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $6,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in ASML by 4,379.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $910,102,000 after buying an additional 870,010 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 50.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,719,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,668,386,000 after purchasing an additional 572,996 shares during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co bought a new position in ASML during the first quarter valued at approximately $542,710,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in ASML by 94,079.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 21.6% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 1,657,878 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,608,921,000 after purchasing an additional 294,784 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Berenberg Bank raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upgraded ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $970.60.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASML traded up $0.89 on Friday, reaching $711.70. 1,380,123 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,391,388. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. ASML Holding has a one year low of $582.48 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $816.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $906.89.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.70%.

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.