Principal Securities Inc. Has $2.16 Million Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,121 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 611 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in ASML were worth $2,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ASML. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of ASML by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 26,866 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,386,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 116 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its position in ASML by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in ASML by 144.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 671 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in ASML by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 44,619 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $37,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

ASML Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ASML stock traded down $6.08 on Friday, reaching $737.01. 1,471,505 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,797,356. The stock has a market cap of $289.96 billion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.47. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $732.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $759.39.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal 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 was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from ASML's previous dividend of $1.08. ASML's payout ratio is 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ASML 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.