Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) were up 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $243.50 and last traded at $241.85. Approximately 524,273 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 5,715,610 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $220.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $202.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 123.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,429 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.