ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Down 1.7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares dipped 1.7% to about $1,432 on Monday with volume down ~30% from average; analysts are mostly positive overall with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a $1,504.38 mean price target, though views vary (Santander cut to underperform while RBC lifted its target to $1,700).
• Dividend sharply increased: ASML announced a quarterly payout of $3.1771 (annualized $12.71) — up from $1.88 previously — with an ex-dividend date of April 27 and payment on May 5.
• Institutional accumulation and valuation: Large funds (e.g., Arrowstreet, Capital International) materially raised stakes recently; ASML has a $563.35B market cap and trades at a P/E of ~51.4 and PEG of 1.48.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $1,415.69 and last traded at $1,432.44. 1,313,948 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 1,864,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,457.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Santander cut shares of ASML from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. KGI Securities set a $1,415.00 price objective on shares of ASML and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of ASML from $1,625.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,504.38.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,401.41 and its 200 day moving average is $1,237.81. The company has a market cap of $563.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.88.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th will be issued a dividend of $3.1771 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 27th. This represents a $12.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. ASML's payout ratio is 23.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in ASML by 195.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,544,705 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,652,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,532 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in ASML by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,919,154 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,791,982,000 after acquiring an additional 577,448 shares during the last quarter. Regents of The University of California bought a new stake in ASML in the 3rd quarter worth $413,335,000. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,861,445,000 after acquiring an additional 385,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in ASML by 75.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 790,869 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $765,632,000 after acquiring an additional 340,518 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

About ASML

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.

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