ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) is Edgewood Management LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Edgewood Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 959,696 shares during the quarter. ASML makes up about 6.3% of Edgewood Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,208,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank grew its position in ASML by 227.3% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 740.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in ASML by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

ASML opened at $605.55 on Friday. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $597.69 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market cap of $238.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $716.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $726.43.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued 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 payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.