ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 2.6% – Time to Sell?

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) fell 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $711.21 and last traded at $715.24. 464,738 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 1,520,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $734.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASML. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $730.88 and its 200 day moving average is $734.36. The firm has a market cap of $281.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. On average, equities research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its stake in ASML by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,208,615,000 after acquiring an additional 959,696 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after buying an additional 31,879 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,239,421,000 after buying an additional 31,231 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $868,324,000 after buying an additional 33,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $667,155,000 after buying an additional 13,115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.