BankPlus Trust Department Increases Stake in ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

BankPlus Trust Department grew its position in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 2,864.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 741 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department’s holdings in ASML were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 153.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 78.9% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 34 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in ASML by 129.4% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new position in ASML in the second quarter worth $32,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of ASML stock opened at $1,072.75 on Friday. ASML Holding N.V. has a fifty-two week low of $578.51 and a fifty-two week high of $1,141.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,052.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $898.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market cap of $421.89 billion, a PE ratio of 43.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.87.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a return on equity of 47.74% and a net margin of 27.08%.The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $1.857 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. This represents a $7.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on ASML shares. Barclays restated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,092.00 to $1,331.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morningstar lowered shares of ASML to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut ASML from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,171.83.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.