Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Acquires 351 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 44.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,139 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of ASML by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,239,421,000 after buying an additional 31,231 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $868,324,000 after buying an additional 33,603 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of ASML by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 807,257 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $559,494,000 after buying an additional 281,156 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 4.0% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 4,880.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $247,019,000 after purchasing an additional 328,552 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASML has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of ASML opened at $674.58 on Monday. 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 Holding has a 12 month low of $645.45 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $727.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $731.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

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.