Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Makes New Investment in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,030 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,486,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ASML. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in ASML by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,190 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,917 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Chronos Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter worth $4,487,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,546,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its position in ASML by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ ASML opened at $727.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $286.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $725.13 and a 200-day moving average of $767.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 26.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ASML shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Company 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.