ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 10.5% - Here's What Happened

Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) were down 10.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $730.60 and last traded at $736.60. Approximately 4,259,706 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 146% from the average daily volume of 1,730,776 shares. The stock had previously closed at $823.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $923.80.

ASML Trading Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $289.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $769.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $727.48.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.94 by ($1.39). The business had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.72 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 50.31% and a net margin of 26.95%. The company's revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be paid a $1.856 dividend. This represents a $7.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is an increase from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. ASML's payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 322.2% in the first quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in ASML during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in ASML during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.