ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.5% – Should You Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $682.37 and last traded at $681.40. Approximately 349,303 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,399,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $671.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ASML shares. UBS Group lowered ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $970.60.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $789.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $895.46. The company has a market cap of $267.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be given a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in ASML during the first quarter valued at approximately $915,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 8,911 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 84.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.