ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shot up 1.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $725.30 and last traded at $722.34. 334,072 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,517,894 shares. The stock had previously closed at $714.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ASML Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a market cap of $288.28 billion, a PE ratio of 35.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $733.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $738.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in ASML by 104.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in ASML by 4.3% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in ASML by 25.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 12,906 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $10,754,000 after buying an additional 2,652 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in ASML by 2.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,497 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,411,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its position in ASML by 6.9% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 326 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 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.