ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $725.30 and last traded at $722.34. 334,072 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,517,894 shares. The stock had previously closed at $714.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price 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 began coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $288.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $733.01 and a 200 day moving average of $738.78.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its holdings in ASML by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,223,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in ASML by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ASML by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 909 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.