ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 1.8% – Should You Sell?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price traded down 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $678.88 and last traded at $677.87. 306,811 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 1,530,147 shares. The stock had previously closed at $690.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Down 1.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $729.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $732.67. The company has a market capitalization of $266.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 111 Capital acquired a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $482,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of ASML by 89.0% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,659 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in ASML during the 4th quarter worth $468,000. Probity Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in ASML by 2,336.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 34,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,710,000 after acquiring an additional 32,806 shares in the last quarter. 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.