Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,776 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,776 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $4,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter worth about $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,994,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $117,323,000 after acquiring an additional 7,010 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,322 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,243,000 after purchasing an additional 7,073 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ASML Trading Up 2.8 %

ASML opened at $714.00 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $280.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $733.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $738.78.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given 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 was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.