ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 0.5%

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price fell 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $871.00 and last traded at $887.69. 378,478 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 1,232,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $892.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. HSBC started coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,036.00.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $955.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $804.52. The firm has a market cap of $362.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.93, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.48.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 27.23%. On average, analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 11.5% during the 3rd 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 acquired a new stake in ASML during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,658,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 lifted its position in shares of ASML by 69.2% during the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 11,529 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,787,000 after acquiring an additional 4,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 219.0% during the 4th quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 3,158 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.