ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 0.6% – What’s Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) fell 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $712.00 and last traded at $715.24. 576,091 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 1,452,135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $719.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ASML shares. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $943.83.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $697.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $841.77. The company has a market capitalization of $277.63 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ASML during the third quarter worth about $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.