Bridgewater Associates LP Invests $13.85 Million in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 16,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,854,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in ASML during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML opened at $670.48 on Friday. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $645.45 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The stock has a market cap of $263.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $734.37 and its 200-day moving average is $867.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. On average, analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ASML shares. Berenberg Bank raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group lowered shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $970.60.

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.