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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. UBS Group cut shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley cut ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays raised shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $970.60.

ASML Trading Up 2.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $272.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $760.64 and its 200 day moving average is $884.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASML. Circle Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in ASML by 39.5% in the third quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $868,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 19.5% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 9,071 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 63,176 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,641,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management boosted its position in shares of ASML by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 303 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in ASML by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after buying an additional 197 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.