Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 46,028 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 898,544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 46,028 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.23% of ASML worth $622,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the third quarter worth $52,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in ASML by 4.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 80,290 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $66,902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group grew its position in ASML by 21.7% in the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,191 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new stake in ASML during the third quarter worth approximately $417,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 12.6% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,375 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASML. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ASML presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $906.00.

ASML Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of ASML stock traded up $23.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $662.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,134,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,628,578. The firm has a market cap of $260.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $578.51 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $692.12 and a 200 day moving average of $709.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $0.19. ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.90 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This is an increase from ASML's previous dividend of $1.08. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.48%.

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.