Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 51 Shares of ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,084 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $12,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 153.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in ASML in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in ASML in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in ASML in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC boosted its holdings in ASML by 147.1% in the second quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded ASML from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,051.60.

ASML Price Performance

ASML stock opened at $1,070.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.87. ASML Holding N.V. has a 52-week low of $578.51 and a 52-week high of $1,077.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $911.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $797.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.31.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a return on equity of 47.74% and a net margin of 27.08%.The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th will be given a dividend of $1.857 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $7.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 25.56%.

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.