ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.4%

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shot up 1.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $772.76 and last traded at $762.11. 692,246 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 1,250,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $751.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASML. Barclays raised ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group lowered ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,147.80.

ASML Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $315.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $903.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $946.34.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 26.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.37 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $1.8732 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $7.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. ASML’s payout ratio is 28.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 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.