Rodgers Brothers Inc. Makes New $1.28 Million Investment in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. purchased a new stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,850 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,282,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi raised its position in shares of ASML by 4,880.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $247,019,000 after purchasing an additional 328,552 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 807,257 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $559,494,000 after buying an additional 281,156 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter worth $175,257,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter worth $137,386,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in ASML by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 156,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $108,601,000 after acquiring an additional 115,603 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ASML shares. BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASML opened at $674.58 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $645.45 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $727.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $731.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (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 anticipate 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 Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

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.