Taurus Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 20,395 ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Taurus Asset Management LLC bought a new position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 20,395 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $16,994,000. ASML makes up approximately 1.7% of Taurus Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $12,800,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in ASML by 7.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,601 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $39,664,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 8.5% during the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,767 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $28,970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736 shares in the last quarter. KP Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 66.7% during the second quarter. KP Management LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $5,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML traded up $8.84 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $667.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,154,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,325. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $648.00 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $262.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $756.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $881.85.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of ASML from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $970.60.

ASML Company 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.