ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price was down 0.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $693.44 and last traded at $698.36. Approximately 554,276 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 1,515,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $703.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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 on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $733.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $740.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $280.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,208,615,000 after buying an additional 959,696 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $2,654,921,000 after buying an additional 31,879 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position 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 valued at $1,239,421,000 after buying an additional 31,231 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position 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 valued at $868,324,000 after buying an additional 33,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in ASML by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $667,155,000 after purchasing an additional 13,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.