Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 1.2%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price shot up 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $233.90 and last traded at $232.62. 890,333 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 5,770,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI began 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. B. Riley increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $215.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.47. The company has a market cap of $192.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.