ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) were down 1.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $669.49 and last traded at $671.28. Approximately 543,054 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 1,394,677 shares. The stock had previously closed at $683.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ASML shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $970.60.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $793.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $897.62. The firm has a market cap of $265.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.48.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be given a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in ASML by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after buying an additional 474,653 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in ASML by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,719,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,668,386,000 after buying an additional 572,996 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in ASML by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 1,657,878 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,608,921,000 after buying an additional 294,784 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,220,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,184,173,000 after purchasing an additional 194,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of ASML by 4,379.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $910,102,000 after purchasing an additional 870,010 shares in the last quarter. 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.