ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Up 1.2% - Here's Why

Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $719.97 and last traded at $713.60. 846,989 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 1,758,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $705.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASML has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna cut their price target on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $923.80.

ASML Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $769.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $728.20. The firm has a market cap of $281.82 billion, a PE ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.73.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last posted 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). ASML had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a $1.856 dividend. This is a boost from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 valued at $9,282,120,000 after buying an additional 1,398,805 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in ASML by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,208,615,000 after purchasing an additional 959,696 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter worth $360,262,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 101.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 731,271 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $484,562,000 after acquiring an additional 367,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of ASML by 91.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 642,498 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $403,215,000 after buying an additional 307,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company's stock.

About ASML

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.