ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Increases Dividend to $1.64 Per Share

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 31st,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of 1.6414 per share by the semiconductor company on Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $6.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41.

ASML has increased its dividend by an average of 19.8% per year over the last three years. ASML has a payout ratio of 21.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect ASML to earn $31.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.8%.

ASML Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ASML traded up $2.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $739.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,980,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,071,207. The company has a 50 day moving average of $718.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $777.78. ASML has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market cap of $290.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 50.53% and a net margin of 26.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that ASML will post 25.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

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.