Meridian Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 821 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ASML by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,855,624,000 after buying an additional 70,776 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of ASML by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,239,421,000 after buying an additional 31,231 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of ASML by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 402,758 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $335,598,000 after buying an additional 50,115 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $739.75 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $732.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $750.03. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $291.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced 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, analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ASML shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

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.