4,199 Shares in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) Bought by Essex Investment Management Co. LLC

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,782,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Edgewood Management LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,208,615,000 after acquiring an additional 959,696 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in ASML by 70,115.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,400,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,282,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,805 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in ASML by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $667,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,115 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in ASML by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $622,769,000 after purchasing an additional 46,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in ASML by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 807,257 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $559,494,000 after purchasing an additional 281,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $729.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. ASML Holding N.V. has a 52-week low of $578.51 and a 52-week high of $945.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $765.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $727.09. The company has a market capitalization of $287.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.73.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.94 by ($1.39). ASML had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The company had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.856 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank downgraded ASML from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded ASML from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, New Street Research upgraded ASML from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $923.80.

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.