ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) fell 0.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $735.40 and last traded at $743.47. 562,219 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 1,349,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $743.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASML. Susquehanna lowered their target price on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $943.83.

ASML Trading Down 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $290.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $699.90 and its 200-day moving average is $807.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

ASML Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in ASML by 4,379.6% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $910,102,000 after purchasing an additional 870,010 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 491,096 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in ASML by 37.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,464,061,000 after buying an additional 474,653 shares during the last quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd raised its position in ASML by 321.2% in the second quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd now owns 202,946 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $207,559,000 after acquiring an additional 154,760 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $125,952,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.