ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.4%

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) rose 1.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $772.76 and last traded at $762.11. Approximately 692,246 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 1,250,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $751.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASML. Barclays raised ASML from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of ASML from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,147.80.

ASML Trading Up 6.5 %

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $908.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $947.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.37 EPS. ASML's quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $1.8732 per share. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. ASML's payout ratio is presently 28.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASML. Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in ASML by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 975 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 4.2% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 273 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. lifted its position in ASML by 1.2% during the first quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 898 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in ASML by 1.1% during the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 2.8% in the 2nd 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. 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.