ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 0.7% – What’s Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shot up 0.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $698.82 and last traded at $687.77. 640,581 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 1,514,269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $683.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

ASML Stock Up 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $271.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $732.99 and its 200 day moving average is $744.18.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 $1.5855 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,208,615,000 after buying an additional 959,696 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,654,921,000 after acquiring an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of ASML by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,239,421,000 after acquiring an additional 31,231 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $868,324,000 after purchasing an additional 33,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $667,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,115 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.