523 Shares in ASML Holding N.V. $ASML Purchased by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc purchased 523 shares of ASML Holding N.V., valued at approximately $419,000, marking its first investment in the semiconductor company during the second quarter.
• ASML recently reported quarterly earnings of $6.41 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, although its revenue was slightly below estimates at $8.71 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.857 per share, with a yield of 0.7%, payable on November 6th, indicating strong financial health.

Aberdeen Group plc bought a new stake in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 523 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC grew its position in ASML by 322.2% in the 1st quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the first quarter worth $27,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in ASML during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in ASML in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC boosted its position in ASML by 147.1% in the second quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $1,029.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $404.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.87. ASML Holding N.V. has a 1 year low of $578.51 and a 1 year high of $1,059.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $864.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $774.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 27.08% and a return on equity of 47.74%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.28 EPS. ASML's quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 29th will be given a dividend of $1.857 per share. This is an increase from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $7.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 29th. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. Bank Degroof lowered shares of ASML to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Morningstar cut shares of ASML to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Mizuho upgraded shares of ASML from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of ASML from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, DZ Bank reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,051.60.

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.

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