Bridgewater Associates LP Invests $13.85 Million in ASML Holding

Bridgewater Associates LP has made a significant investment in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by acquiring a new stake during the third quarter. According to the firm’s latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), they purchased 16,626 shares of the semiconductor company, with a total valuation of approximately $13.85 million.

In addition to Bridgewater, several other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in ASML recently. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holding by 1.0% in the third quarter, bringing their total shares to 3,186,222, valued at around $2.65 billion after acquiring an additional 31,879 shares. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position by 3.3%, now owning 2,226,971 shares worth approximately $1.86 billion after a purchase of 70,776 shares.

Van ECK Associates Corp significantly expanded its stake by 37.0%, now holding 1,757,049 shares valued at about $1.46 billion after adding 474,653 shares. Meanwhile, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings dramatically, by 4,379.6%, which amounts to 889,875 shares worth $910.1 million after acquiring 870,010 shares.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP also raised its investment by 0.3%, now owning 817,709 shares valued at $836.3 million after an additional 2,085 shares were purchased. Together, these institutional actions suggest that hedge funds and other institutional investors hold a collective 26.07% stake in ASML.

Analysts’ Views on ASML

Several research analysts have weighed in on ASML's stock. On September 20, Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating from "overweight" to "equal weight." In a report dated October 21, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered its price target for ASML from $1,052 to $815 while keeping an "outperform" rating. On October 17, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its price target from $1,207 to $1,148 and maintained an "overweight" rating. Berenberg Bank upgraded ASML to "strong buy" on October 2, while UBS Group lowered its rating from "buy" to "neutral" on September 4. Of the analysts covering ASML, three have issued a hold rating, nine a buy rating, and two a strong buy rating, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price estimate of $970.60.

Current Market Standing

As of the latest trading session, ASML shares opened at $670.48. The company has a substantial market capitalization of $263.78 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.10 and a PEG ratio of 1.99. ASML's debt-to-equity ratio stands at a relatively low 0.29. The stock's performance has seen a 50-day moving average price of $734.37 and a 200-day moving average of $867.34. Within the past year, ASML's stock reached a low of $645.45 and a high of $1,110.09.

In its most recent quarterly earnings report, released on October 15, ASML reported earnings per share (EPS) of $5.80, surpassing analysts' expectations of $5.24 by $0.56. The company achieved a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%, with revenues reaching $8.21 billion against an expectation of $7.66 billion. Looking forward, analysts predict that ASML will post an EPS of 20.68 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

ASML also declared a quarterly dividend recently, paid on November 7 to shareholders who were on record as of October 29. The dividend was set at $1.407 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $5.63 and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was October 29, and the company's dividend payout ratio is 29.21%.

About ASML Holding

ASML Holding N.V. is dedicated to the development, production, marketing, sale, and servicing of advanced semiconductor equipment systems tailored for chipmakers. Their offerings include cutting-edge semiconductor equipment systems such as lithography, metrology, and inspection elements, along with extreme ultraviolet and deep ultraviolet lithography systems suitable for various semiconductor manufacturing technologies.

investment, ASML, semiconductor