ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $837.96 and last traded at $836.11. 267,567 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,246,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $824.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ASML. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on ASML from $1,185.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays raised shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,110.80.

ASML Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $847.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $926.76. The company has a market capitalization of $332.28 billion, a PE ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for 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%. ASML’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $1.8732 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $7.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. WD Rutherford LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.