First Trust Advisors LP Raises Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 203,512 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,670 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.05% of ASML worth $141,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its position in ASML by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,208,615,000 after acquiring an additional 959,696 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 4,880.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $247,019,000 after buying an additional 328,552 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of ASML by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 807,257 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $559,494,000 after buying an additional 281,156 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $175,257,000. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter valued at $137,386,000. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ASML. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 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. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $906.00.

ASML Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:ASML traded up $14.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $672.07. 827,394 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,630,823. ASML Holding has a one year low of $578.51 and a one year high of $1,110.09. 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 has a market cap of $264.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $690.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $709.50.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.90 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This is a boost from ASML's previous dividend of $1.08. ASML's payout ratio is currently 27.48%.

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.