3. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) is a leading European semiconductor equipment manufacturer that develops, produces, sells, and services advanced semiconductor equipment systems consisting of lithography, metrology, and inspection-related systems for memory and logic chipmakers. The company operates in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Europe, the United States, and the rest of Asia. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in the Netherlands.
On July 20, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) released its earnings for the fiscal second quarter of 2022. The company reported a revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, up 16.52% year over year, and outperformed Wall Street estimates by $143.77 million. The company reported earnings per share of $3.60 and beat EPS expectations by $0.06.
Shortly after its earnings release, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) announced that its board of directors have declared a quarterly cash dividend of €1.37 per share, payable on August 12. The company revised its dividend policy to maintain consistency of its dividend growth in 2021 and said it plans to provide dividends to shareholders on a quarterly basis. In 2021, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) declared an aggregate annual dividend of €5.50 per share. As of August 3, the stock has a forward dividend yield of 1.09% and free cash flows of $9.20 billion.
This July, Credit Suisse analyst Adithya Metuku revised his price target on ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) to EUR 920 from EUR 960 and reiterated a buy-side Outperform rating on the shares. On July 21, Deutsche Bank analyst Robert Sanders raised his price target on ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) to EUR 525 from EUR 475 and maintained a Hold rating on the shares.
At the close of Q1 2022, 46 hedge funds were long ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) and held stakes worth $5.04 billion in the company. This is compared to 40 positions in the previous quarter with stakes worth $5.59 billion.
As of March 31, Fisher Asset Management owns more than 4.44 million shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) and is the largest shareholder in the company. The fund’s stakes were valued at $2.96 billion, which covers 1.75% of Ken Fisher’s 13F portfolio.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments had to say about ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) in its “International Growth ADR Strategy” first-quarter 2022 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we reduced our semiconductor exposure through the trim of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) to manage concerns of a slowdown due to the risk of double ordering and potential softness in some consumer end markets. We increased our position in IT services with the purchase of Accenture as we remain optimistic about the long-term growth potential these companies provide, which is underpinned by the compressed digital transformation cycle, rising cloud adoption and growth in data-driven insights.
Despite the market volatility and hyper focus on rising rates, chief information officer surveys continue to forecast resilience in IT budgets this year. Growth in IT spending for 2022 is expected to remain above the 10-year pre-COVID-19 average, according to Morgan Stanley. We believe this is a result of the strong secular underpinnings brought on by digital transformation and businesses focusing on increasing efficiencies through technology.”
