Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 0.1% Higher

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price was up 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $236.92 and last traded at $234.51. Approximately 744,407 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,760,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.47.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after purchasing an additional 570,080 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.