Earnest Partners LLC Buys 428 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,404 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC's holdings in ASML were worth $2,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its position in ASML by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. grew its position in ASML by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 606 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC increased its stake in ASML by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Quarterback LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML traded up $25.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $691.75. 754,327 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,635,337. The company has a market capitalization of $272.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $681.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $702.55. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $578.51 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.12 by $0.19. ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.90 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $1.6414 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $6.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.