Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 266 ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 266 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $236,000. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 229.5% in the third quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA increased its stake in ASML by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 73 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its position in ASML by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 429 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Price Performance

ASML stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $833.00. The stock had a trading volume of 862,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,253,543. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.84. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $573.86 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $848.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $929.53.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $1.8732 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 28.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ASML shares. Susquehanna upped 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 note on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group cut ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of ASML from $1,185.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,110.80.

ASML Company 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.