ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price was down 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $767.24 and last traded at $768.40. Approximately 415,150 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 1,786,349 shares. The stock had previously closed at $776.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the subject of several recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Three investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Down 3.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $295.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $729.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $763.48.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. On average, equities research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 26.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASML. Novo Holdings A S raised its position in shares of ASML by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Novo Holdings A S now owns 165,836 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $114,938,000 after purchasing an additional 32,500 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its stake in ASML by 265.4% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 190 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at $14,537,000. Guardian Capital LP grew its position in shares of ASML by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 35,605 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $24,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth about $112,000. Institutional investors 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.