ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 1.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $1,134.18 and last traded at $1,119.69. 1,103,466 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 1,669,126 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,099.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ASML shares. Rothschild Redb raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of ASML from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $965.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,171.83.

ASML Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $440.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,028.77 and a 200-day moving average of $864.67.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a $1.857 dividend. This represents a $7.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.80%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in ASML by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,352,596 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,213,705,000 after buying an additional 108,342 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 17.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,919,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,791,982,000 after acquiring an additional 577,448 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of ASML by 16.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,148,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,079,948,000 after acquiring an additional 305,435 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,861,445,000 after acquiring an additional 385,502 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in ASML by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,865,254 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,805,733,000 after purchasing an additional 142,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.