ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in ASML were worth $4,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in shares of ASML by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

ASML Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $756.17 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $726.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $764.28. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $645.45 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $297.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (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, equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 26.83%.

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.