Columbia Asset Management Sells 233 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Columbia Asset Management reduced its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,473 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its stake in ASML by 227.3% during the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 740.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in ASML during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in ASML during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ASML Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $667.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $262.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $645.45 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $723.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $729.51.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its 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%. Research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 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. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.