ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 2% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares shot up 2% during mid-day trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $922.04 and last traded at $918.55. 333,337 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,230,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $900.90.

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 of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. ASML’s payout ratio is 27.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ASML shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. HSBC started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating 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. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,036.00.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $955.61 and its 200-day moving average is $805.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $362.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.93, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.48.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. ASML had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 56.99%. Analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the first quarter worth $39,000. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 110.0% during the first quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 200.0% during the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.