ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 0.4%

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares dropped 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $964.37 and last traded at $967.20. Approximately 179,453 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,236,618 shares. The stock had previously closed at $971.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on ASML from $950.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of ASML from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $962.60.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $924.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $751.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $382.94 billion, a PE ratio of 45.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a return on equity of 68.32% and a net margin of 28.44%. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. On average, research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.48 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 200.0% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in ASML by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ASML by 220.0% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bollard Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth $36,000. 26.07% of the stock is 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.