ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Up 2.8% – Time to Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price traded up 2.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $733.00 and last traded at $728.29. 631,418 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 1,509,858 shares. The stock had previously closed at $708.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ASML shares. BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $732.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $750.10. The stock has a market cap of $289.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $1.5855 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Probity Advisors Inc. bought a new position in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 2,336.6% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 34,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,710,000 after acquiring an additional 32,806 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC grew its position in ASML by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter worth approximately $963,000. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $737,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ASML Company 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.