Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 518,586 Shares of ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 81.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 118,915 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 518,586 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $115,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ASML. Regents of The University of California purchased a new stake in ASML in the third quarter worth about $413,335,000. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,861,445,000 after purchasing an additional 385,502 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,244,254 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,401,304,000 after purchasing an additional 250,934 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 114.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 329,878 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $264,333,000 after purchasing an additional 175,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 32.4% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 413,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $331,198,000 after buying an additional 101,041 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays upgraded ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered ASML from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,475.00.

ASML Stock Up 2.8%

ASML stock opened at $1,399.37 on Thursday. ASML Holding N.V. has a 1-year low of $578.51 and a 1-year high of $1,547.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,342.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,098.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $550.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.20, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.88.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 27th will be paid a dividend of $3.1771 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 27th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $12.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 25.10%.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.