ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 1.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price traded up 1.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $725.30 and last traded at $722.34. 334,072 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,517,894 shares. The stock had previously closed at $714.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 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. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $287.63 billion, a PE ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $731.72 and a 200-day moving average of $736.46.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its holdings in ASML by 227.3% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 740.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in ASML during the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in ASML during the third quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other 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.