ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 3% – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) traded up 3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $747.05 and last traded at $751.77. 410,587 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,747,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $730.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective 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. cut 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $732.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $756.35.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. 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 Trading of ASML

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,208,615,000 after acquiring an additional 959,696 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.0% in 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 buying an additional 31,879 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of ASML by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,239,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31,231 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $868,324,000 after buying an additional 33,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $667,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.