Aperture Investors LLC Invests $1.45 Million in ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

Aperture Investors LLC bought a new stake in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,810 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,451,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 153.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in ASML by 129.4% in the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP bought a new position in ASML during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in ASML by 147.1% during the second quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ASML shares. Morgan Stanley raised ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ASML from $1,105.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,171.83.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML stock opened at $1,111.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.87. ASML Holding N.V. has a twelve month low of $578.51 and a twelve month high of $1,141.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,034.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $870.01.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 27.08% and a return on equity of 47.74%. The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $1.857 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio is 25.76%.

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.