Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Grows Position in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in ASML Holding N.V. by 26.5% in the first quarter, owning 952,385 shares valued at approximately $631 million.
• ASML recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.55 per share, falling short of analysts' expectations, and a revenue of $8.94 billion, surpassing estimates by $220 million.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.856 per share, reflecting a 1.0% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 26.21%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 952,385 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 199,740 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.24% of ASML worth $631,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in ASML by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 402 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in ASML by 12.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,407 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $5,571,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in ASML by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 19,483 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $12,910,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in ASML by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,418 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,806,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Price Performance

ASML stock traded up $22.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $713.12. 1,721,976 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,560,348. ASML Holding N.V. has a 1 year low of $578.51 and a 1 year high of $945.05. The company has a market capitalization of $280.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.76. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $758.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $725.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.43.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.94 by ($1.39). ASML had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.01 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm 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 a positive change from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. ASML's payout ratio is 26.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ASML. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, May 19th. New Street Research upgraded shares of ASML from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 target price for the company. Finally, DZ Bank cut ASML from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $923.80.

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.