ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price rose 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $718.30 and last traded at $708.25. Approximately 299,946 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,450,269 shares. The stock had previously closed at $706.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group cut ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $943.83.

ASML Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $278.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $718.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $855.80.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 4,379.6% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $910,102,000 after buying an additional 870,010 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in ASML by 94,079.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,096,410,000 after acquiring an additional 491,096 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of ASML by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after purchasing an additional 474,653 shares during the last quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of ASML by 321.2% during the second quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd now owns 202,946 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $207,559,000 after purchasing an additional 154,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the third quarter worth $125,952,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.