ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 2.9% on Analyst Upgrade

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price was up 2.9% on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $1,092.00 to $1,331.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. ASML traded as high as $1,141.72 and last traded at $1,140.92. Approximately 2,054,568 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 1,674,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,108.78.

ASML has been the topic of several other research reports. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Arete Research upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. DZ Bank reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,171.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in ASML by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,352,596 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,213,705,000 after buying an additional 108,342 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of ASML by 17.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,919,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,791,982,000 after purchasing an additional 577,448 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in ASML by 16.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,148,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,079,948,000 after purchasing an additional 305,435 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in ASML by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,861,445,000 after purchasing an additional 385,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in ASML by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,865,254 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,805,733,000 after buying an additional 142,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Trading Up 2.9%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,018.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $856.82. The company has a market cap of $448.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.44, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.74% and a net margin of 27.08%.The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were paid a $1.857 dividend. This represents a $7.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 25.80%.

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.