Banque Pictet & Cie SA Sells 272 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lessened its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,105 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in ASML were worth $3,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Creative Planning grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ASML by 285.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 7,101 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,917,000 after acquiring an additional 5,259 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth $737,000. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective 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 price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASML opened at $751.55 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $728.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $764.31. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $645.45 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The stock has a market cap of $295.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. As a group, equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.83%.

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.