Eastern Bank Raises Position in ASML Holding N.V. $ASML

Eastern Bank raised its position in shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) by 54.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,479,000 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. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its stake in ASML by 78.9% in the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 34 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its stake in ASML by 1,150.0% in the fourth quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 25 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in ASML by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 27 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Trading Up 4.2%

NASDAQ ASML opened at $1,711.89 on Wednesday. ASML Holding N.V. has a 12 month low of $684.24 and a 12 month high of $1,999.96. The stock has a market cap of $673.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,763.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,545.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, June 28th. The semiconductor company reported $8.65 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter. ASML had a return on equity of 52.71% and a net margin of 30.11%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 44.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be paid a $2.1507 dividend. This represents a $8.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ASML. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,700.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of ASML from $2,200.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of ASML from $2,268.00 to $2,345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,970.33.

ASML Profile

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.