ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 1.9% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) shares traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $1,175.00 to $1,275.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a buy rating on the stock. ASML traded as high as $1,113.20 and last traded at $1,108.78. 1,423,406 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 1,673,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,087.99.

ASML has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ASML from $1,105.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Bank Degroof downgraded ASML to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Zacks Research upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Barclays restated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,093.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in ASML during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 153.8% in the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its position in ASML by 78.9% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 34 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ASML during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Up 1.9%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,015.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $854.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $436.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.88.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced 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. ASML had a net margin of 27.08% and a return on equity of 47.74%. The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.857 per share. This represents a $7.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 29th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.76%.

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.