ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 1.1% – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price traded down 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $719.99 and last traded at $722.49. 311,299 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,516,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $730.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ASML shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $289.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $731.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $736.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ASML by 104.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 34.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,108 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 4.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 28,785 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 542.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its stake in ASML by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,589 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. 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.