Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $6.95 Million Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 43.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,025 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,016 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in ASML were worth $6,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its stake in ASML by 227.3% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ASML during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in shares of ASML by 133.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ASML. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 4.5 %

ASML stock traded up $31.53 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $739.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,751,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,514,190. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $732.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $750.10. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $645.45 and a 12 month 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 stock has a market cap of $291.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, 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 was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders 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 a boost from ASML's previous dividend of $1.08. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.