Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 332 ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 332 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in ASML by 94,079.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 37.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,464,061,000 after buying an additional 474,653 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in ASML during the third quarter worth about $125,952,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew 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 valued at $108,601,000 after acquiring an additional 115,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 97,001.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 113,609 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $94,665,000 after acquiring an additional 113,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $751.55 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $729.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $763.48. The firm has a market cap of $295.67 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-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.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

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.