ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.7% – Should You Buy?

Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) traded up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $1,575.60 and last traded at $1,552.14. 1,186,119 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 32% from the average session volume of 1,737,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,526.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ASML. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of ASML from $1,971.00 to $2,623.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,079.12.

ASML Trading Up 1.7%

The firm has a market cap of $598.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,699.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,597.10.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, September 27th. The semiconductor company reported $14.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $13.27 billion during the quarter. ASML had a net margin of 34.10% and a return on equity of 64.24%. On average, research analysts expect that ASML Holding N.V. will post 46.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 27th will be paid a dividend of $2.1077 per share. This represents a $8.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 27th. This is a negative change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.1507. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in ASML during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,355,000. Puzo Michael J acquired a new position in ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,795,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 6.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 440,721 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $876,783,000 after purchasing an additional 27,021 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of ASML by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 85,872 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $170,851,000 after buying an additional 3,632 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in ASML by 12.5% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,167 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,057,000 after buying an additional 2,913 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. is a Netherlands-based technology company that develops and manufactures advanced lithography systems used by semiconductor manufacturers to produce integrated circuits. Its equipment helps customers transfer intricate circuit patterns onto silicon wafers, a critical step in the production of processors, memory chips and other semiconductor devices.

ASML’s product portfolio includes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, which support the production of the most advanced chips, as well as deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems for a broad range of semiconductor applications.