ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,147.80.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASML. UBS Group downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays raised ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in ASML by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 975 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 4.2% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 273 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Investment Partners LTD. grew its stake in ASML by 1.2% in the first quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 898 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in ASML by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in ASML by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASML opened at $841.54 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $331.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $855.83 and its 200 day moving average is $933.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. ASML has a 12 month low of $563.99 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $1.8732 per share. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.