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

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $923.80.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $806.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, May 19th.

ASML Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of ASML opened at $711.25 on Friday. ASML has a one year low of $578.51 and a one year high of $945.05. The company has a market cap of $279.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $765.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $727.27.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.94 by ($1.39). ASML had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that ASML will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a $1.856 dividend. This represents a $7.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.67%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Putney Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 322.2% in the first quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in ASML in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in ASML in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in ASML by 147.1% in the second quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.