ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price rose 2.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $1,761.31 and last traded at $1,740.99. Approximately 1,062,190 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 1,888,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,704.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ASML shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on ASML from $1,700.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ASML from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,970.33.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,770.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,551.72. The stock has a market cap of $684.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.17, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.79.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, June 28th. The semiconductor company reported $8.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. ASML had a return on equity of 52.71% and a net margin of 30.11%.The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding N.V. will post 44.79 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were given a dividend of $2.1507 per share. This represents a $8.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in ASML in the first quarter worth about $4,355,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 22,467 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $24,036,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,444,000. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,402,000. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in ASML by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 65,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,920,000 after buying an additional 11,459 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.