ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.6% - Time to Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $769.50 and last traded at $768.48. 478,187 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,793,298 shares. The stock had previously closed at $756.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ASML Trading Down 1.0 %

The business's fifty day moving average is $730.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $760.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $292.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML's previous dividend of $1.08. ASML's payout ratio is currently 26.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Edgewood Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,208,615,000 after acquiring an additional 959,696 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in ASML by 37.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,464,061,000 after buying an additional 474,653 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in ASML by 4,880.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $247,019,000 after buying an additional 328,552 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of ASML by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 807,257 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $559,494,000 after buying an additional 281,156 shares during the last quarter. 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.