Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 2.8%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price was up 2.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $241.29 and last traded at $238.96. Approximately 993,051 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 5,743,659 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $218.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company 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 business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other 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 transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 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.