ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 74.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 27,880 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in ASML were worth $6,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in ASML by 104.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of ASML by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,108 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its position in ASML by 6.6% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,589 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,991,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in ASML by 31.1% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 856 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in ASML by 4.1% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,165 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:ASML traded up $11.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $727.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,103,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,529,582. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $645.45 and a 1 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 firm has a market capitalization of $286.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $730.88 and a 200-day moving average of $733.81.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML's previous dividend of $1.08. ASML's payout ratio is 31.35%.

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.