ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) rose 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $733.41 and last traded at $733.10. Approximately 402,586 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,960,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $731.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Trading Down 1.5 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $724.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $769.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $286.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. On average, analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm 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 payout ratio is currently 26.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 1.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,855,624,000 after buying an additional 70,776 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in ASML by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,239,421,000 after acquiring an additional 31,231 shares in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its position in ASML by 4.0% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after acquiring an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 94,079.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.