Polen Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Polen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,141 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 5,142 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $43,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ASML by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,180 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 8,858 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,139,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Glenview Trust co boosted its position in shares of ASML by 94.5% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838 shares during the period. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 439 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

ASML stock opened at $714.00 on Monday. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $645.45 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $733.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $738.78. The firm has a market cap of $280.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. On average, research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

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.