ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 4.4% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) were down 4.4% on Tuesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $1,329.03 and last traded at $1,360.94. Approximately 1,956,581 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 1,944,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,423.54.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ASML. Santander downgraded shares of ASML from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upgraded ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded ASML from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on ASML from $1,550.00 to $1,625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,475.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in ASML by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,484,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,798,268,000 after acquiring an additional 132,353 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 17.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,919,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,791,982,000 after purchasing an additional 577,448 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in ASML by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,148,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,079,948,000 after buying an additional 305,435 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in ASML by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,861,445,000 after buying an additional 385,502 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in ASML by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,865,254 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,805,733,000 after buying an additional 142,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $538.15 billion, a PE ratio of 53.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,342.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,098.50.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th will be given a $3.1771 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 27th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $12.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. ASML’s payout ratio is 25.10%.

ASML Company Profile

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.