Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Purchases New Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 27,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $19,060,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kennebec Savings Bank increased its stake 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 raised its stake in shares of ASML by 740.0% in the fourth 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 bought a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in ASML by 133.3% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $906.00.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML stock traded up $2.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $677.27. 1,280,834 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,641,265. The stock's 50-day moving average is $687.38 and its 200-day moving average is $705.65. The stock has a market cap of $266.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. ASML Holding has a 52 week low of $578.51 and a 52 week high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.12 by $0.19. ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.90 billion. As a group, research 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 Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML's previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.48%.

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.