Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 873 Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,218 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in ASML were worth $4,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Putney Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of ASML in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of ASML in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. New Street Research upgraded shares of ASML from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. DZ Bank cut shares of ASML from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $923.80.

ASML Price Performance

ASML opened at $741.79 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $757.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $724.42. 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 Holding N.V. has a 52 week low of $578.51 and a 52 week high of $945.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.84 billion, a PE 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 released 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). ASML had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 26.95%. The business had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.01 EPS. ASML's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

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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