ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 2.6% – Should You Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price traded up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $712.65 and last traded at $712.59. 339,442 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,516,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $694.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. 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 note on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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 stock has a market capitalization of $281.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $733.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $742.04.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of ASML

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in ASML by 89.0% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,659 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,843,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth about $468,000. Probity Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in ASML by 2,336.6% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 34,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,710,000 after acquiring an additional 32,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cim LLC boosted its position in ASML by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 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.