ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 1.9%

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $878.00 and last traded at $868.64. 281,657 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,219,958 shares. The stock had previously closed at $852.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. Susquehanna increased their target price 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. HSBC began coverage on ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,036.00.

ASML Stock Up 3.6 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $951.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $812.02. 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 company has a market cap of $355.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.05, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $1.343 dividend. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. ASML’s payout ratio is 32.53%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 50.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,719,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,668,386,000 after purchasing an additional 572,996 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in ASML by 34.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,067,413 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $628,344,000 after acquiring an additional 274,562 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 48,040.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 245,999 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $186,202,000 after acquiring an additional 245,488 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 776,768 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $587,951,000 after acquiring an additional 203,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 4th quarter valued at about $150,318,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by 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.