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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASML has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $943.83.

ASML Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $290.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s 50 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.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.68 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid 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 presently 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in ASML during the fourth quarter worth $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC bought a new position in ASML during the third quarter worth $16,994,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in ASML by 5.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $117,323,000 after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in ASML by 7.2% during the third quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in ASML by 7.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,601 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,664,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares during the period. 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.