Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 90,066 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,411,223 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 90,066 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,230,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Taurus Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in ASML during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,994,000. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ASML by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in ASML by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,601 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,664,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ASML by 104.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,767 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ASML Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $713.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $280.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $711.39 and its 200-day moving average is $852.09. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $645.45 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. Equities research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ASML. Berenberg Bank raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $943.83.

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.