ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Up 2.2% Following Dividend Announcement

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 2.2% during trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $892.97 and last traded at $891.38. 248,463 shares changed 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. 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 currently 27.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASML shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded ASML from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Stock Up 3.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $957.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $800.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $355.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 27.23%. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.34 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,359 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,767,464,000 after purchasing an additional 105,196 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,607,702 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,123,710,000 after purchasing an additional 126,413 shares during the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC increased its position in ASML by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,617,083 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,224,002,000 after acquiring an additional 121,847 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,247,197 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $944,028,000 after acquiring an additional 32,623 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in ASML by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,173,324 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $888,112,000 after purchasing an additional 24,368 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

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.