JT Stratford LLC Increases Stake in ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

JT Stratford LLC boosted its stake in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 299.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,863 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the quarter. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 153.8% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in ASML during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 129.4% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $965.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,140.00.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $1,108.78 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,018.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $856.82. ASML Holding N.V. has a 52-week low of $578.51 and a 52-week high of $1,113.20. The company has a market cap of $436.06 billion, a PE ratio of 45.13, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 27.08% and a return on equity of 47.74%. The business had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $1.857 per share. This represents a $7.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 25.80%.

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.