ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 3.6%

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) were down 3.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $794.62 and last traded at $798.65. Approximately 712,820 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 1,256,394 shares. The stock had previously closed at $828.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ASML shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,147.80.

ASML Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $876.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $941.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $317.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.84, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 26.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $1.8732 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harvard Management Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of ASML by 239.8% during the 2nd quarter. Harvard Management Co. Inc. now owns 93,519 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $95,645,000 after purchasing an additional 66,000 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in ASML by 41.1% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,457 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in ASML by 169.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,661,000 after acquiring an additional 14,682 shares in the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. bought a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter worth approximately $761,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in ASML by 25,520.0% in the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,281 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,276 shares in the last quarter. 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.