TCW Group Inc. Cuts Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

TCW Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,144 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 14,270 shares during the period. ASML comprises 1.5% of TCW Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $137,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of ASML by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 126 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Slow Capital Inc. boosted its stake in ASML by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 4,407 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,336,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 478 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allred Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 1,080 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ASML shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Susquehanna raised their price target on ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of ASML stock traded up $11.92 on Thursday, hitting $934.25. 1,330,014 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,159,335. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $936.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $844.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.49. ASML Holding has a one year low of $563.99 and a one year high of $1,056.34.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The semiconductor company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.54. ASML had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. Equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.12 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th were given a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. ASML’s payout ratio is 32.53%.

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.