Forefront Wealth Management Inc. Buys New Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 404 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ASML. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of ASML by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,174,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in ASML by 5.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $117,323,000 after buying an additional 7,010 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,322 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $18,243,000 after buying an additional 7,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of ASML by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,759 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,764,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $937.00.

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ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASML traded down $1.10 on Tuesday, hitting $726.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,243,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,529,550. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company's 50-day moving average is $730.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $733.34. The stock has a market cap of $285.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML's previous dividend of $1.08. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

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.