ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 742 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of ASML by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,067,413 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $628,344,000 after acquiring an additional 274,562 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in ASML by 48,040.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 245,999 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $186,202,000 after buying an additional 245,488 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 106.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 336,956 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $198,353,000 after acquiring an additional 173,813 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,146,157 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $867,549,000 after acquiring an additional 151,844 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,607,702 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,123,710,000 after acquiring an additional 126,413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Down 0.9 %

ASML stock opened at $908.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $949.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $821.79. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $563.99 and a 52 week high of $1,056.34. The company has a market cap of $358.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $1.343 per share. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,036.00.

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.