ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 0.3% – What’s Next?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

ASML Trading Down 1.5 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $725.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $767.97. The stock has a market cap of $286.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. On average, research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is 26.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 94,079.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in ASML by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after buying an additional 474,653 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in ASML by 4,880.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $247,019,000 after acquiring an additional 328,552 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter worth approximately $175,257,000. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,386,000. 26.07% of the stock is 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.