Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 3,701 Shares of ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,629 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,701 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $11,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ASML. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 153.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in ASML during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. 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 in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML opened at $1,004.06 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $988.68 and a 200-day moving average of $835.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $394.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.88. ASML Holding N.V. has a 1 year low of $578.51 and a 1 year high of $1,086.11.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors 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. This represents a $7.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. ASML’s payout ratio is 25.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ASML shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,076.33.

About ASML

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.