ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 1.6% – Should You Sell?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares were down 1.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $656.78 and last traded at $658.39. Approximately 869,105 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 1,414,735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $669.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upgraded ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $970.60.

ASML Trading Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $262.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $763.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $886.15.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.77 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new stake in ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the second quarter worth $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in ASML in the third quarter worth $25,000. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ASML in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.