ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• ASML Holding N.V. has a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from fourteen brokerages, with an average target price of $923.80.
• The company reported earnings of $4.55 per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate but showing a 23.2% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• ASML announced a quarterly dividend of $1.856 per share, which is an increase from the previous dividend of $1.64.

Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $923.80.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. New Street Research raised shares of ASML from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. DZ Bank cut shares of ASML from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML traded down $13.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $742.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,633,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,748,919. The company has a market capitalization of $291.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $758.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $725.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. ASML has a 1 year low of $578.51 and a 1 year high of $945.05.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.94 by ($1.39). The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.72 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that ASML will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th were issued a $1.856 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $7.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. ASML's payout ratio is currently 26.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 4.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 317 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 0.3% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 4,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,880,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Baring Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 2.8% during the second quarter. Baring Financial LLC now owns 510 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 857 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 96 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.