Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 813,116 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,617 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.21% of ASML worth $615,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASML. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,359 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,767,464,000 after purchasing an additional 105,196 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,607,702 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,123,710,000 after purchasing an additional 126,413 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,495,236 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $880,186,000 after purchasing an additional 105,339 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,214,574 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $714,971,000 after purchasing an additional 23,783 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,146,157 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $867,549,000 after purchasing an additional 151,844 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. HSBC began coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of ASML stock traded up $16.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $930.29. 814,077 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,211,522. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $563.99 and a 12-month high of $1,056.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company's 50-day moving average price is $947.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $825.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The semiconductor company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.54. ASML had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.73 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.04 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were given a $1.343 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.48%.

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.

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