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

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are 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 objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $937.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 70,115.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,400,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,282,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,805 shares during the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position in ASML by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,208,615,000 after buying an additional 959,696 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in ASML by 4,880.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $247,019,000 after acquiring an additional 328,552 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 807,257 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $559,494,000 after acquiring an additional 281,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth approximately $175,257,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML stock opened at $649.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $255.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. ASML has a 1-year low of $578.51 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $707.47 and a 200-day moving average of $720.01.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.