ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 0.8% - Should You Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $666.29 and last traded at $664.00. Approximately 663,635 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 1,436,275 shares. The stock had previously closed at $658.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ASML shares. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of ASML from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of ASML from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $970.60.

ASML Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $756.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $881.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.51.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASML. Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in ASML by 1.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 975 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in ASML by 1.1% in the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 2.8% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial increased its position in shares of ASML by 1.1% in the second quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,121 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in shares of ASML by 0.6% in the second quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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