MQS Management LLC Buys New Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 844 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $863,000. ASML makes up approximately 0.5% of MQS Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Harvard Management Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in ASML by 239.8% in the second quarter. Harvard Management Co. Inc. now owns 93,519 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $95,645,000 after purchasing an additional 66,000 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of ASML by 41.1% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,457 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,355,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of ASML by 169.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,661,000 after buying an additional 14,682 shares during the period. Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $761,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 25,520.0% during the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ASML Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $787.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $310.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.24, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. ASML Holding has a fifty-two week low of $563.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,110.09. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $881.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $942.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 26.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current 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 $1.8732 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $7.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.50%.

ASML Company 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.