ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) Position Cut by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its holdings in ASML Holding N.V. by 3.9%, retaining a position that represents 0.5% of its portfolio with a value of approximately $613 million.
• ASML reported earnings of $4.55 per share for the last quarter, which was below the consensus estimate of $5.94, despite having revenues of $8.94 billion, surpassing expectations of $8.72 billion.
• The company announced an increased quarterly dividend of $1.856 per share, up from $1.64, resulting in a 1.0% dividend yield.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC trimmed its holdings in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 925,149 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 37,429 shares during the quarter. ASML comprises 0.5% of Neuberger Berman Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.24% of ASML worth $613,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in ASML by 70,115.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,400,800 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,282,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,805 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 101.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 731,271 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $484,562,000 after acquiring an additional 367,505 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 952,385 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $631,079,000 after acquiring an additional 199,740 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 439,890 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $307,374,000 after acquiring an additional 163,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hyperion Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of ASML by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 297,882 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $206,456,000 after acquiring an additional 116,121 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $741.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. ASML Holding N.V. has a 1 year low of $578.51 and a 1 year high of $945.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $757.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $724.42. The firm has a market cap of $291.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.76.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 26.95%. The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.01 earnings per share. ASML's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $1.856 per share. This is a positive change from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. ASML's dividend payout ratio is 26.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ASML. Susquehanna cut their price objective on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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