ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.4% – What’s Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price rose 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $704.27 and last traded at $700.07. Approximately 437,410 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,514,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $690.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ASML Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $276.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $732.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $742.65.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly 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, equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ASML by 104.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in ASML by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its stake in ASML by 113.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 360 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,767 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,970,000 after acquiring an additional 2,736 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.