ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $937.00.

ASML has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of 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. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,208,615,000 after buying an additional 959,696 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 491,096 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 37.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after purchasing an additional 474,653 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 4,880.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $247,019,000 after purchasing an additional 328,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 807,257 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $559,494,000 after purchasing an additional 281,156 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASML traded down $6.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $736.62. The stock had a trading volume of 694,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,773,851. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $732.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $759.97. 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 has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Research analysts forecast that ASML will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

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.