ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 0.3% - Here's What Happened

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $662.46 and last traded at $666.41. Approximately 264,565 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,634,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $668.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ASML has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $906.00.

ASML Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $680.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $702.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.90 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. On average, analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $1.6414 dividend. This represents a $6.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. ASML's payout ratio is presently 27.48%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in ASML during the third quarter valued at about $1,438,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 4.9% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in ASML by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth $1,174,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.