ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 1.6% Higher – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price traded up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $769.50 and last traded at $768.48. 478,187 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,793,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $756.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $727.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $764.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $304.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.83%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in ASML by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC bought a new position in ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,994,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in ASML by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,323,000 after buying an additional 7,010 shares during the period. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in ASML by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,800,000 after buying an additional 1,032 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.