ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price dropped 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $737.00 and last traded at $743.98. Approximately 1,183,989 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 1,523,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $757.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $943.83.

ASML Trading Down 0.7 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $699.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $808.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $290.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in ASML by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 61 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 248 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 80 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 922 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 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.