ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,043.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on ASML. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. HSBC started coverage on ASML in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in ASML in the first quarter worth $26,000. WD Rutherford LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ASML during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in ASML by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in ASML in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $1,061.38 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $951.64 and a 200-day moving average of $891.91. The stock has a market cap of $418.81 billion, a PE ratio of 54.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.54. ASML has a fifty-two week low of $563.99 and a fifty-two week high of $1,077.22.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The semiconductor company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. ASML had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 56.99%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ASML will post 20.12 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th were given a $1.343 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. ASML’s payout ratio is 32.53%.

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.