ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.6% – Here’s Why

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price traded up 1.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $1,006.88 and last traded at $1,003.22. 1,170,886 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 1,675,679 shares. The stock had previously closed at $987.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,076.33.

ASML Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,002.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $843.85. The firm has a market cap of $394.55 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.88.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 27.08% and a return on equity of 47.74%. The company had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.28 earnings per share. ASML’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were issued a $1.857 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $7.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.76%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 25.3% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,664 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,738,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 97.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 153,939 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $101,978,000 after purchasing an additional 76,023 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in ASML by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 18,899 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 67.9% during the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Planning Group LLC raised its position in ASML by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 6,552 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,251,000 after purchasing an additional 730 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.