ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price dropped 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $747.00 and last traded at $750.26. Approximately 557,346 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,800,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $751.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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 shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $292.79 billion, a PE ratio of 35.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $730.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $760.65.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS 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 anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s payout ratio is 26.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,208,615,000 after purchasing an additional 959,696 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in ASML by 1.0% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after acquiring an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in ASML by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,239,421,000 after acquiring an additional 31,231 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in ASML by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $868,324,000 after acquiring an additional 33,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in ASML by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $667,155,000 after acquiring an additional 13,115 shares in the last quarter. 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.