ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 1.5% – Time to Sell?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares dropped 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $739.73 and last traded at $745.92. Approximately 438,800 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 1,367,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $757.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $943.83.

ASML Stock Down 2.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $695.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $811.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $291.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results 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. The company 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. ASML’s payout ratio is 29.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth $16,994,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,323,000 after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,601 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,664,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares during 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.