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

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price traded up 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. 248,463 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $1.343 dividend. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 27.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Trading Up 2.3 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $957.04 and its 200 day moving average is $798.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $351.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WD Rutherford LLC bought a new position in ASML during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of ASML by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.