Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Buys 1,856 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,136 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,856 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $4,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 227.3% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $708.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $733.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $754.88. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ASML. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. cut their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

ASML Company 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.