Blair William & Co. IL Buys 2,079 Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in ASML Holding N.V. by 26.2% during the first quarter, holding 10,016 shares valued at approximately $6.64 million.
• ASML recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.55 per share, which was below analysts' expectations of $5.94, despite revenue rising 23.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $1.856 per share, which reflects an annualized dividend of $7.42 and a yield of 1.1%.

Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 26.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,016 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 2,079 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in ASML were worth $6,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 322.2% in the first quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of ASML in the first quarter worth $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the first quarter worth $35,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in ASML during the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the first quarter worth about $42,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASML. Jefferies Financial Group lowered ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. DZ Bank lowered shares of ASML from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Monday, May 19th. New Street Research upgraded ASML from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $923.80.

ASML Stock Up 3.2%

ASML stock traded up $22.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $713.12. 1,721,976 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,560,348. ASML Holding N.V. has a one year low of $578.51 and a one year high of $945.05. The company has a market cap of $280.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.76. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $758.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $725.09. 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 (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.94 by ($1.39). The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.72 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 26.95%. ASML's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.01 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

ASML Company 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.