Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in ASML by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 229,923 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $153,573,000 after purchasing an additional 29,290 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in ASML by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,391 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,230,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in ASML by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,266 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in ASML during the 1st quarter worth about $264,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management lifted its holdings in ASML by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 426 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. HSBC initiated coverage on ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded ASML from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on ASML from $726.00 to $878.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on ASML from $950.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $962.60.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML stock traded down $3.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $970.47. 685,725 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,234,304. The stock has a market cap of $382.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.11, a PEG ratio of 2.34 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $924.75 and its 200-day moving average is $751.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 68.32% and a net margin of 28.44%. Research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.343 per share. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.59%.

About ASML

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.