ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 1.9% – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price dropped 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $670.53 and last traded at $671.72. Approximately 365,891 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,445,973 shares. The stock had previously closed at $684.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ASML. Barclays raised ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $970.60.

ASML Stock Down 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $742.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $871.93. The firm has a market cap of $263.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 1.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 975 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.1% in the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,121 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 0.6% during the second quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after buying an additional 12 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.