ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) rose 1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $750.69 and last traded at $749.97. Approximately 384,832 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,841,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $742.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 1.0 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $725.78 and its 200 day moving average is $765.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a $1.5855 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 1.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after purchasing an additional 31,879 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 3.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,855,624,000 after acquiring an additional 70,776 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of ASML by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,239,421,000 after acquiring an additional 31,231 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 4.0% during the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after acquiring an additional 25,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 94,079.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after acquiring an additional 491,096 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.