ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 2.2% – Time to Sell?

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) dropped 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $1,692.88 and last traded at $1,696.16. 1,241,746 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 1,822,776 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,735.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ASML. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on ASML from $2,200.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of ASML from $1,971.00 to $2,623.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,970.33.

ASML Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,764.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,591.65. The firm has a market cap of $667.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, June 28th. The semiconductor company reported $8.65 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $10.62 billion during the quarter. ASML had a net margin of 30.11% and a return on equity of 52.71%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 44.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a $2.1507 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $8.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.62%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in ASML by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,484,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,798,268,000 after buying an additional 132,353 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in ASML by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,459,420 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,892,869,000 after buying an additional 592,125 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in ASML by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,641,565 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,168,227,000 after buying an additional 96,860 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in ASML by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,560,256 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,060,833,000 after buying an additional 19,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in ASML by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,526,411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,633,046,000 after acquiring an additional 193,068 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Company Profile

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.