ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $736.23 and last traded at $740.09. Approximately 347,921 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,927,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $742.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASML has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $722.93 and its 200 day moving average is $769.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $291.49 billion, a PE ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.83%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in ASML by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,856 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,989,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,798,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ASML by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,827 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,306,000 after buying an additional 4,355 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,228 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,396,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,662,000 after buying an additional 216 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.