ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 1.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• ASML's stock price decreased by 1.5%, reaching $717.72, with trading volume significantly lower than average, indicating cautious investor sentiment.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for ASML, with a consensus target price of $923.80; recent changes include Susquehanna lowering its price target while New Street Research upgraded ASML to a "buy".
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.856, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders, with an annualized yield of 1.03%.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $718.73 and last traded at $717.72. Approximately 605,701 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 1,755,509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $728.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. Susquehanna decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $923.80.

ASML Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $271.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.73. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $763.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $726.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.94 by ($1.39). The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.72 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 49.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be issued a $1.856 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a $7.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 510 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $322,000. Tevis Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 116.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 2,115 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in ASML by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 479 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ASML by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 78,630 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $63,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.