Plan Group Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 400 ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)

Key Points

• Plan Group Financial LLC has made a new investment in ASML Holding N.V. by purchasing 400 shares valued at approximately $265,000. This marks a growing interest from various hedge funds in the semiconductor sector.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for ASML, with a price target averaging $923.80, although several have adjusted their ratings recently.
• ASML has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.856, increasing from the previous dividend of $1.64, indicating robust financial performance with a projected annual yield of 1.1%.

Plan Group Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 400 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ASML. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 worth $9,282,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,805 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $667,155,000 after buying an additional 13,115 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of ASML by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 898,544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $622,769,000 after buying an additional 46,028 shares during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 692,152 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $479,717,000 after acquiring an additional 46,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 669,100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $463,740,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. New Street Research raised ASML from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, May 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $923.80.

ASML Trading Up 3.2%

ASML traded up $22.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $713.12. 1,721,976 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,560,348. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $758.52 and a 200 day moving average of $725.09. ASML Holding N.V. has a 12-month low of $578.51 and a 12-month high of $945.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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. Equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were given a $1.856 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. ASML's payout ratio 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.