William Blair Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,668 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 3,892 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in ASML were worth $3,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi raised its stake in 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in ASML during the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,257,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in ASML during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,386,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in ASML by 281.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 156,693 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $108,601,000 after buying an additional 115,603 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in ASML by 126.4% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 148,377 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $123,635,000 after buying an additional 82,836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML stock traded down $17.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $716.22. 1,965,756 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,531,293. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $730.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $734.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.