Legal & General Group Plc Buys 5,377 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,554 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 5,377 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in ASML were worth $17,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,208,615,000 after purchasing an additional 959,696 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of ASML by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,239,421,000 after buying an additional 31,231 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $868,324,000 after buying an additional 33,603 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 worth $559,494,000 after buying an additional 281,156 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 383,893 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $266,068,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

NASDAQ ASML opened at $672.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $264.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $704.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $716.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $578.51 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Sell-side analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $1.5855 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

About ASML

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.