Sanford C. Bernstein Trims ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Target Price to $1,052.00

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) had its price objective trimmed by Sanford C. Bernstein from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a buy rating for the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of ASML from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of ASML from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an overweight rating on the stock. Five equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $954.82 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $959.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $787.55. ASML has a 12-month low of $563.99 and a 12-month high of $1,056.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $376.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.39, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. ASML had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 68.32%. On average, equities analysts forecast that ASML will post 20.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $1.343 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. ASML’s payout ratio is 24.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 11.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,013,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Savoie Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the third quarter worth $14,658,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 48,040.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 245,999 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $186,202,000 after buying an additional 245,488 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in shares of ASML by 69.2% in the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 11,529 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,787,000 after buying an additional 4,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of ASML by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,608 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,842,000 after buying an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.