ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 1.9% Higher – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price rose 1.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $731.95 and last traded at $730.02. Approximately 284,302 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,526,491 shares. The stock had previously closed at $716.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on 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 assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $286.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $733.81.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 31.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Edgewood Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,208,615,000 after purchasing an additional 959,696 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in ASML by 4,880.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $247,019,000 after buying an additional 328,552 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of ASML by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 807,257 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $559,494,000 after acquiring an additional 281,156 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter worth approximately $175,257,000. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,386,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.