ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $937.00.

Several brokerages recently commented on ASML. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 104.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,840,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 12,906 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,754,000 after buying an additional 2,652 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,497 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,411,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 326 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML stock opened at $716.22 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $281.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $733.81. ASML has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that ASML will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 31.35%.

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.