ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shot up 1.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $723.25 and last traded at $721.48. 419,938 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,386,764 shares. The stock had previously closed at $710.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASML. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $970.60.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $820.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $909.35. The stock has a market cap of $283.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.48.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be issued a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.70%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 24.3% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 257.4% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 12.5% in the third quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 486 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 46.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deepwater Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 7.0% in the third quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.