ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 3.4% – Here’s Why

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) was down 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $1,028.83 and last traded at $1,030.14. Approximately 1,730,920 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 1,690,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,066.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, October 10th. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on ASML from $965.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,051.60.

ASML Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $405.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $930.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $807.27.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a return on equity of 47.74% and a net margin of 27.08%.The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th will be given a dividend of $1.857 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 29th. This represents a $7.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 25.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the first quarter valued at about $360,262,000. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 24.9% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,861,445,000 after buying an additional 385,502 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 101.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 731,271 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $484,562,000 after buying an additional 367,505 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 91.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 642,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $403,215,000 after buying an additional 307,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 61.0% in the first quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 708,062 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $469,183,000 after buying an additional 268,172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Company Profile

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.