Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Boosts Position in ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 112.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 96,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 51,108 shares during the period. ASML accounts for about 4.4% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $93,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ASML. Regents of The University of California bought a new stake in ASML in the third quarter valued at $413,335,000. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,861,445,000 after purchasing an additional 385,502 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,244,254 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,401,304,000 after buying an additional 250,934 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in ASML by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 329,878 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $264,333,000 after buying an additional 175,939 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in ASML by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 413,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $331,198,000 after buying an additional 101,041 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded ASML from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $1,911.00 price target on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $1,200.00 price objective on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, November 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,092.00 to $1,331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,475.00.

ASML Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ASML traded up $18.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,476.96. The stock had a trading volume of 91,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,986,020. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,271.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,050.27. The company has a market capitalization of $580.86 billion, a PE ratio of 56.79, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.79. ASML Holding N.V. has a 12 month low of $578.51 and a 12 month high of $1,493.47.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th will be issued a dividend of $3.1771 per share. This represents a $12.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 27th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 25.10%.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.