Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in ASML Holding N.V. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, now owning approximately 905,708 shares worth around $600 million.
• ASML declared a quarterly dividend of $1.856, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%, which is higher than its previous dividend of $1.64.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a miss on EPS estimates with $4.55 reported compared to the expected $5.94, although revenue exceeded expectations at $8.94 billion.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 905,708 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 7,164 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.23% of ASML worth $600,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of ASML by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 687 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 28,721 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $19,907,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,052,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $7,227,000 after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

ASML Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:ASML traded down $13.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $742.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,633,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,466. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $757.89 and a 200-day moving average of $725.48. ASML Holding N.V. has a 1 year low of $578.51 and a 1 year high of $945.05.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASML. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 price target on the stock. DZ Bank cut shares of ASML from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.