Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Director Thomas J. Iannotti Sells 9,827 Shares

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $232.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $215.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.47.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JT Stratford LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.6% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.9% during the first quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.