ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Time to Sell?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares fell 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $727.01 and last traded at $730.75. 516,869 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 1,751,466 shares. The stock had previously closed at $735.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ASML. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $732.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $757.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $286.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of ASML by 227.3% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the third quarter worth $28,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ASML during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.