Essex Financial Services Inc. Acquires 780 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambiar Investors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 154.5% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 644 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 4,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,313,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $1,903,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter valued at $3,899,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

ASML stock opened at $744.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $292.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.77, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $725.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $766.07. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $645.45 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. On average, analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the subject of several research reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

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.