ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 1.8% – Should You Sell?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price fell 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $737.00 and last traded at $743.98. 1,183,989 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 1,523,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $757.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASML has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. 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 decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $943.83.

ASML Trading Down 1.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $697.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $811.25. The company has a market cap of $292.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. On average, research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.68 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. ASML’s payout ratio is 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Lantz Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the second quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in ASML by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,738 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,914,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,704 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,833,000 after buying an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in ASML by 9.4% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,319,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in ASML by 13.8% in the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 403 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.