Principal Securities Inc. Has $2.16 Million Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,121 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in ASML during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its holdings in ASML by 227.3% during the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ASML during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 46.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 133.3% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Trading Down 3.3 %

ASML stock opened at $751.55 on Tuesday. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The stock has a market cap of $295.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $729.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $761.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS 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 47.73%. Equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a $1.5855 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 26.83%.

ASML 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.