Axa S.A. Has $13.81 Million Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Axa S.A. grew its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 158.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,499 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,266 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in ASML were worth $13,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in ASML by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,967,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,760,348,000 after buying an additional 95,795 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 50.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,719,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,668,386,000 after purchasing an additional 572,996 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 21.6% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 1,657,878 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,608,921,000 after purchasing an additional 294,784 shares in the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,617,083 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,224,002,000 after purchasing an additional 121,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in ASML by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,282,396 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,311,545,000 after purchasing an additional 170,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASML opened at $841.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $331.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $855.83 and its 200-day moving average is $933.98. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $563.99 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 26.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $1.8732 per share. This represents a $7.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 28.55%.

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.