Empire Financial Management Company LLC Acquires 525 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 39.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,846 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC's holdings in ASML were worth $1,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 227.3% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its position in ASML by 740.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in shares of ASML by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ASML Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:ASML traded down $12.70 on Monday, reaching $662.94. 608,988 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,637,218. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $687.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $705.65. The company has a market capitalization of $260.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $578.51 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

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

ASML 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.