ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Up 2.6% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• ASML's stock price increased by 2.6% on Monday, closing at $729.72 after trading as high as $735.41, with trading volume significantly declining by 44% from its average.
• Equities analysts have mixed ratings on ASML, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $923.80, as some firms raised their targets while others downgraded their ratings.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.856 per share, reflecting a boost from its previous dividend and representing an annual yield of 1.02%.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 2.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $735.41 and last traded at $729.72. 987,858 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 1,754,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $711.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. DZ Bank cut ASML from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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 market cap of $287.22 billion, a PE ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $765.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $727.16.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.72 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 26.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.856 per share. This is a boost from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $7.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. ASML's payout ratio is presently 29.67%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,398,805 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC grew its stake in ASML by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,208,615,000 after purchasing an additional 959,696 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in ASML in the first quarter worth approximately $360,262,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in ASML by 101.0% during the 1st 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 holdings in shares of ASML by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 642,498 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $403,215,000 after purchasing an additional 307,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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