Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 1.5% After Insider Selling

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price fell 1.5% during trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $230.09 and last traded at $231.96. 1,341,632 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 5,772,722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.41.

Specifically, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. 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 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $190.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $215.39 and its 200-day moving average is $193.86.

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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 105.7% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 112,478 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,573,000 after acquiring an additional 57,791 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,035 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,201 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,458,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 51,346 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,109,000 after buying an additional 8,371 shares in the last quarter. 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.