ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 2.9% – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $1,385.72 and last traded at $1,359.76. 1,725,139 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 1,856,935 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,320.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASML has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered ASML from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on ASML from $1,450.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded ASML from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,482.50.

ASML Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,395.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,181.56. The firm has a market cap of $518.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.26.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 27th will be given a $3.1771 dividend. This represents a $12.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 27th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 25.10%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in ASML by 195.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,544,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,652,618,000 after buying an additional 1,022,532 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in ASML by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,919,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,791,982,000 after acquiring an additional 577,448 shares during the period. Regents of The University of California purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at $413,335,000. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,861,445,000 after acquiring an additional 385,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of ASML by 75.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 790,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $765,632,000 after acquiring an additional 340,518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.