STF Management LP Cuts Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

STF Management LP lowered its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,337 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. STF Management LP’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 3.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,855,624,000 after purchasing an additional 70,776 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of ASML by 37.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,464,061,000 after purchasing an additional 474,653 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in ASML by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,220,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,184,173,000 after buying an additional 194,357 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in ASML by 4,379.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in ASML by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 817,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $836,300,000 after buying an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML stock opened at $670.02 on Friday. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $645.45 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $747.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $875.74.

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

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Three equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $970.60.

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.