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

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) was down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $715.00 and last traded at $719.71. Approximately 586,834 shares traded hands 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Berenberg Bank raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $943.83.

ASML Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $281.64 billion, a PE ratio of 37.48, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $695.51 and its 200-day moving average is $833.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in ASML by 4,379.6% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $910,102,000 after buying an additional 870,010 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 94,079.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of ASML by 37.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after purchasing an additional 474,653 shares during the period. Tairen Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of ASML by 321.2% during the second quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd now owns 202,946 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $207,559,000 after purchasing an additional 154,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth about $125,952,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.