Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Decreases Stock Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,447 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,739 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in ASML were worth $85,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ASML. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in ASML in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. WD Rutherford LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in ASML in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in ASML during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in ASML in the second quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,147.80.

ASML Price Performance

ASML stock opened at $795.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $870.91 and a 200-day moving average of $939.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $563.99 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $1.8732 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $7.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.50%.

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.