Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 476 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ASML. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in ASML by 4.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 317 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 4,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,880,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Baring Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baring Financial LLC now owns 510 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 15.2% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 39.5% during the second quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 53 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised ASML from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Redburn Partners set a $1,200.00 target price on ASML in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on ASML from $965.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,076.33.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $1,040.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,008.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $847.30. The stock has a market cap of $409.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.88. ASML Holding N.V. has a one year low of $578.51 and a one year high of $1,086.11.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.74% and a net margin of 27.08%.The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were issued a $1.857 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 29th. This represents a $7.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 25.76%.

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.