ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $937.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASML. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in ASML in the third quarter valued at $16,994,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $117,323,000 after acquiring an additional 7,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ASML by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Up 0.1 %

ASML stock opened at $744.80 on Thursday. ASML has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $731.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $760.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.81, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.67%.

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.