ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 1.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) traded down 1.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $981.00 and last traded at $1,006.98. 1,268,900 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 1,674,499 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,019.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ASML. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. DZ Bank reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on ASML from $1,105.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,076.33.

ASML Stock Down 1.3%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $975.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $826.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $396.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.88.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. ASML had a net margin of 27.08% and a return on equity of 47.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a $1.857 dividend. This represents a $7.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 25.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in ASML by 25.3% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,664 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,738,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 97.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 153,939 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $101,978,000 after purchasing an additional 76,023 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in ASML by 67.9% in the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC increased its position in ASML by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 6,552 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,251,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of ASML by 115.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 5,144 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,125,000 after buying an additional 2,761 shares during the period. 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.