ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 1% – Should You Sell?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) traded down 1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $695.40 and last traded at $698.64. 341,840 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,527,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $705.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ASML shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $730.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $732.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $272.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Equities research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $1.5855 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its holdings in ASML by 227.3% during the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 740.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in ASML by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.