ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 5.6% – Should You Sell?

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) shares traded down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $977.00 and last traded at $981.04. 2,034,447 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 21% from the average session volume of 1,674,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,039.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Redburn Partners set a $1,200.00 price target on shares of ASML in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho raised ASML from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised ASML from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,076.33.

ASML Trading Down 5.6%

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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $993.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $836.81. The firm has a market cap of $385.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.88.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. ASML had a net margin of 27.08% and a return on equity of 47.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.28 EPS. Analysts predict that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $1.857 per share. This represents a $7.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 25.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors raised its stake in ASML by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,919,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,791,982,000 after buying an additional 577,448 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the first quarter worth $360,262,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the third quarter worth $505,510,000. Regents of The University of California purchased a new stake in ASML during the third quarter valued at $413,335,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 24.9% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,861,445,000 after acquiring an additional 385,502 shares during the period. 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.