ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 2.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares rose 2.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $711.96 and last traded at $708.30. Approximately 376,104 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,449,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $693.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $943.83.

ASML Stock Up 0.8 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $694.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $822.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $274.82 billion, a PE ratio of 36.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after acquiring an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 3.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,855,624,000 after acquiring an additional 70,776 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in ASML by 37.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after acquiring an additional 474,653 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in ASML by 4,379.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $910,102,000 after purchasing an additional 870,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 817,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $836,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.