ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) were down 2.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $904.28 and last traded at $905.70. Approximately 356,990 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,166,097 shares. The stock had previously closed at $932.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ASML shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,147.80.

ASML Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,004.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $942.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.06, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.52.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.37 earnings per share. ASML’s revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.8732 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $7.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 32.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at $769,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 358.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,320 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,418,000 after buying an additional 3,377 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 8.1% during the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 254 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ASML by 3.9% during the second quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,976 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,044,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter worth about $372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.