ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of ASML from $2,200.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on ASML from $2,200.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,970.33.

ASML Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ASML opened at $1,883.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $740.59 billion, a PE ratio of 58.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,784.33 and its 200 day moving average is $1,571.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33. ASML has a fifty-two week low of $716.20 and a fifty-two week high of $1,999.96.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, June 28th. The semiconductor company reported $8.65 EPS for the quarter. ASML had a net margin of 30.11% and a return on equity of 52.71%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML will post 44.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $2.1507 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $8.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,355,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 22,467 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $24,036,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,402,000. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in ASML by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 65,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,920,000 after buying an additional 11,459 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 507.0% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,695 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,883,000 after buying an additional 2,251 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.