Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 3,705 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 96.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,555 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 3,705 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in ASML were worth $5,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 227.3% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in ASML by 133.3% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML opened at $708.22 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $732.50 and its 200-day moving average is $750.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47. ASML Holding has a fifty-two week low of $645.45 and a fifty-two week 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS 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 paid a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASML. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective 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. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.