National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 95.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 76,263 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,203 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in ASML were worth $54,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in ASML by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,359 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,767,464,000 after buying an additional 105,196 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,607,702 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,123,710,000 after purchasing an additional 126,413 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 7.6% during the third quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,495,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $880,186,000 after purchasing an additional 105,339 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,214,574 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $714,971,000 after purchasing an additional 23,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,146,157 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $867,549,000 after purchasing an additional 151,844 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ASML shares. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. HSBC started coverage on ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price target on ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,036.00.

ASML Stock Up 3.6 %

ASML stock traded up $31.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $901.63. 1,038,174 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,239,902. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $355.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.49. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $563.99 and a 52-week high of $1,056.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $951.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $817.16.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.343 per share. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 32.53%.

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.