Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 603 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 11.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,704 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $5,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ASML. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in ASML during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. WD Rutherford LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the first quarter worth $29,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the second quarter valued at $31,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in ASML in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the second quarter worth about $36,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Stock Up 6.5 %

ASML stock opened at $800.14 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $908.78 and a 200-day moving average of $947.36. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $563.99 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $1.8732 per share. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays raised ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,147.80.

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.