ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Acquired by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,477 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $4,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harvard Management Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 239.8% during the second quarter. Harvard Management Co. Inc. now owns 93,519 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $95,645,000 after buying an additional 66,000 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of ASML by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,457 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 122.1% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 6,415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,560,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of ASML by 169.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,661,000 after purchasing an additional 14,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter worth $761,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASML opened at $841.54 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $855.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $933.63. The company has a market capitalization of $332.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.98, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.49. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $563.99 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 26.50%. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $1.8732 dividend. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 28.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group lowered ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,147.80.

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.