Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 3,016 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 43.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,025 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,016 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $6,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in ASML in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of ASML by 227.3% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in ASML during the third quarter worth $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in ASML by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in ASML during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ASML Trading Up 1.6 %

ASML stock opened at $708.71 on Monday. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $733.15 and its 200-day moving average is $753.19. The firm has a market cap of $278.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASML. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

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.