ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 2.2% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price rose 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $892.97 and last traded at $891.38. Approximately 248,463 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 1,238,452 shares. The stock had previously closed at $872.05.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 27.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price target on ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. HSBC began coverage on ASML in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Trading Up 2.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $351.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $957.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $798.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 27.23%. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 13.2% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 369 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in shares of ASML by 0.7% during the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 7,117 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,907,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton raised its stake in ASML by 4.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in ASML during the first quarter valued at $251,000. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its stake in ASML by 118.2% during the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ASML

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.