Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Increases Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,169 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 220.0% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in ASML in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of ASML traded down $2.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $971.15. 522,839 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,230,325. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $924.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $751.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $383.21 billion, a PE ratio of 45.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.49. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $563.99 and a 52-week high of $1,056.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 68.32%. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.48 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised ASML from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. HSBC initiated coverage on ASML in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $726.00 to $878.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Five 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $962.60.

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.