ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares were down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $715.00 and last traded at $719.71. Approximately 586,834 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 1,457,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $721.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $943.83.

ASML Price 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 has a 50 day moving average of $694.48 and a 200-day moving average of $835.09. The company has a market cap of $283.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. Equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $1.407 dividend. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Taurus Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,994,000. State Street Corp raised its position in ASML by 5.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,323,000 after acquiring an additional 7,010 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ASML by 7.2% in the third quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in ASML by 7.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,601 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,664,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in ASML by 104.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.