ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $719.99 and last traded at $722.49. 311,299 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,516,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $730.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ASML Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $731.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $736.45. The stock has a market cap of $289.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 a boost 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%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Edgewood Management LLC increased its stake in ASML by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,208,615,000 after purchasing an additional 959,696 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,654,921,000 after buying an additional 31,879 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in ASML by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,239,421,000 after buying an additional 31,231 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in ASML by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $868,324,000 after buying an additional 33,603 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in shares of ASML by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $667,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.