Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 652 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,665 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 652 shares during the quarter. ASML accounts for about 0.7% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in ASML were worth $14,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Andar Capital Management HK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 259.5% during the fourth quarter. Andar Capital Management HK Ltd now owns 15,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $10,466,000 after buying an additional 10,900 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter worth about $963,000. Evoke Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 493 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,095 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,145,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in ASML by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASML opened at $731.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $287.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $731.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $736.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

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.