ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,122 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,475 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in ASML were worth $138,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 4,379.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $910,102,000 after buying an additional 870,010 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in ASML by 94,079.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,096,410,000 after acquiring an additional 491,096 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in ASML by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,464,061,000 after acquiring an additional 474,653 shares in the last quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of ASML by 321.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd now owns 202,946 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $207,559,000 after purchasing an additional 154,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at $125,952,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $684.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $742.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $871.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. On average, analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Berenberg Bank upgraded ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $970.60.

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.