Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Raises Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 29 shares during the quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ASML in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,134,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $593,000. Mengis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,781,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ ASML opened at $746.93 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $733.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $756.28. The company has a market capitalization of $293.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $645.45 and a 52 week high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. On average, equities research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ASML shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

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.