ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 0.5% – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares were down 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $692.80 and last traded at $696.39. Approximately 969,664 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 1,508,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $699.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ASML has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

ASML Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $732.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $751.58. The stock has a market cap of $278.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Sell-side analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 2,336.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 34,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,710,000 after purchasing an additional 32,806 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 2,425 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the fourth quarter worth about $963,000. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new stake in ASML in the 4th quarter worth about $737,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in ASML by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 3,340 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during 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.