ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 2.9% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) shot up 2.9% during trading on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $1,092.00 to $1,331.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. ASML traded as high as $1,141.72 and last traded at $1,140.92. 2,054,568 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 1,674,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,108.78.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho raised shares of ASML from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on ASML from $1,105.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,171.83.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 941 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in ASML by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 18,899 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 97.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 153,939 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $101,978,000 after acquiring an additional 76,023 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of ASML by 115.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,144 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 67.9% during the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Up 2.9%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,018.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $856.82. The company has a market cap of $448.70 billion, a PE ratio of 46.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were paid a $1.857 dividend. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is presently 25.80%.

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.