ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Purchased by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank raised its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,921 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,609 shares during the quarter. ASML makes up 1.4% of Country Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in ASML were worth $54,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASML. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in ASML by 94,079.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of ASML by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after acquiring an additional 474,653 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth about $125,952,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 156,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,601,000 after acquiring an additional 115,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 97,001.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 113,609 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $94,665,000 after purchasing an additional 113,492 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $736.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $289.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $718.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $777.78. ASML Holding has a fifty-two week low of $645.45 and a fifty-two week high of $1,110.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 50.53%. Equities analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.07 EPS for the current year.

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.