Morgan Stanley Lowers ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) to Equal Weight

Morgan Stanley cut shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group lowered ASML from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded ASML from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ASML presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $1,147.80.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASML opened at $803.50 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $865.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $937.49. The firm has a market cap of $317.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.04, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.84. ASML has a 1 year low of $563.99 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ASML will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $1.8732 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new position in ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the first quarter valued at $26,000. WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in ASML in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.