Essex Financial Services Inc. Acquires 780 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in ASML by 24.5% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 61 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its position in shares of ASML by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 46.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $744.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $292.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $725.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $766.07. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. On average, equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.