ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,147.80.

Several analysts have weighed in on ASML shares. Morgan Stanley cut ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group downgraded ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 4,379.6% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $910,102,000 after acquiring an additional 870,010 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in ASML by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,719,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,668,386,000 after purchasing an additional 572,996 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co purchased a new position in ASML in the 1st quarter worth approximately $542,710,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in ASML by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 1,657,878 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,608,921,000 after purchasing an additional 294,784 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of ASML by 11,084.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 246,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $238,784,000 after buying an additional 243,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

ASML opened at $841.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.08 billion, a PE ratio of 42.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $855.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $933.98. ASML has a 52-week low of $563.99 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that ASML will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $1.8732 per share. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 28.55%.

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.