ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 0.4%

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $897.63 and last traded at $898.04. 274,299 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,236,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $901.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. HSBC initiated coverage on ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,036.00.

ASML Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $352.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $956.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $801.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 27.23%. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.11 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.343 per share. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. ASML's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASML. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 6.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 511 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 8.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 14.2% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of ASML by 6.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 837 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of ASML by 9.5% in the third quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 370 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 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.