ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Falls 2.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• ASML shares fell 2.5% to $1,526.14, trading below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. About 1.81 million shares changed hands.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $2,079.12, despite some neutral and sell ratings.
• ASML reported quarterly EPS of $14.71 on $13.27 billion in revenue and maintains strong profitability, while its quarterly dividend was reduced to $2.1077 per share, yielding approximately 0.6%.

Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) fell 2.5% on Monday. The company traded as low as $1,518.00 and last traded at $1,526.14. Approximately 1,811,045 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 1,741,249 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,565.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on ASML from $2,200.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of ASML from $1,971.00 to $2,623.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, September 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2,079.12.

ASML Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1,704.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,595.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $588.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.80.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, September 27th. The semiconductor company reported $14.71 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $13.27 billion for the quarter. ASML had a return on equity of 64.24% and a net margin of 34.10%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 46.54 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 27th will be paid a dividend of $2.1077 per share. This represents a $8.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 27th. This is a negative change from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $2.1507. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in ASML during the 1st quarter worth $4,355,000. Puzo Michael J acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the second quarter valued at about $1,795,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ASML by 6.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 440,721 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $876,783,000 after acquiring an additional 27,021 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of ASML by 4.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 85,872 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $170,851,000 after acquiring an additional 3,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 12.5% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,167 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $52,057,000 after acquiring an additional 2,913 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Company Profile

ASML Holding N.V. is a Netherlands-based technology company that develops and manufactures advanced lithography systems used by semiconductor manufacturers to produce integrated circuits. Its equipment helps customers transfer intricate circuit patterns onto silicon wafers, a critical step in the production of processors, memory chips and other semiconductor devices.

ASML's product portfolio includes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, which support the production of the most advanced chips, as well as deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems for a broad range of semiconductor applications.

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