844 Shares in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Acquired by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 844 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,000. ASML accounts for approximately 0.5% of MQS Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ASML. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in ASML during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML stock opened at $787.84 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $881.39 and a 200-day moving average of $942.06. The stock has a market cap of $310.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $563.99 and a 52 week high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $1.8732 per share. This represents a $7.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 28.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group lowered ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays upgraded shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,147.80.

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.