816 Shares in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Purchased by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 816 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 200.0% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in ASML by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 220.0% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in ASML in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of ASML traded down $75.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $901.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,800,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,460. ASML Holding has a one year low of $563.99 and a one year high of $1,056.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.72 billion, a PE ratio of 41.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $960.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $790.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a return on equity of 68.32% and a net margin of 28.44%. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.46 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $1.343 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ASML shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Five equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,036.00.

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.