ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 1.2% – Still a Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shot up 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $724.98 and last traded at $721.48. 511,716 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 1,446,658 shares. The stock had previously closed at $713.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $943.83.

ASML Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $711.39 and its 200-day moving average is $852.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $1.407 dividend. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in ASML in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.