ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX) Lowered to “Equal Weight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports.

Separately, StockNews.com raised ASE Technology from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th.

ASE Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASX opened at $11.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.20. ASE Technology has a 1 year low of $7.20 and a 1 year high of $12.23.

ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter. ASE Technology had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 5.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ASE Technology will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASE Technology Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.3209 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a yield of 2.2%. ASE Technology’s payout ratio is 91.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASE Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in ASE Technology by 31.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 3,629 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ASE Technology in the first quarter valued at $120,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in ASE Technology by 117.9% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,311 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 19,108 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in ASE Technology by 2.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,308,753 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $234,182,000 after purchasing an additional 584,333 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in ASE Technology by 15.4% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 266,452 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 35,597 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

About ASE Technology

ASE Technology Holding Co, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides semiconductors packaging and testing, and electronic manufacturing services in the United States, Taiwan, Asia, Europe, and internationally. It develops, constructs, sells, leases, and manages real estate properties; produces substrates; offers information software, equipment leasing, investment advisory, and warehousing management services; commercial complex, after-sales, and support services; manages parking lot services; processes and sells computer and communication peripherals, electronic components, telecommunications equipment, and motherboards; and imports and exports goods and technology.