ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 2.1% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• ASML shares decreased by 2.1% to a last traded price of $709.62 after hitting a low of $706.60 and experiencing a significant drop in trading volume.
• Research analysts mainly hold a "hold" rating for ASML, with a consensus price target of $923.80 despite recent downgrades from some analysts.
• The company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing the expectations of $5.94, but exceeded revenue estimates with $8.94 billion in revenue.
• ASML has increased its quarterly dividend to $1.856 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.04% and a dividend payout ratio of 29.67%.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) dropped 2.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $706.60 and last traded at $709.62. Approximately 917,642 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 1,749,581 shares. The stock had previously closed at $725.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of ASML from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Monday, May 19th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday. New Street Research raised shares of ASML from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $923.80.

ASML Stock Down 1.9%

The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $765.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $727.39.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.94 by ($1.39). ASML had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 26.95%. The business had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 29th will be given a dividend of $1.856 per share. This is an increase from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. ASML's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Putney Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 322.2% during the 1st quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in ASML during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its position in ASML by 147.1% in the second quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PARK CIRCLE Co lifted its position in ASML by 80.0% in the second quarter. PARK CIRCLE Co now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 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.