Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 1.5%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $237.82 and last traded at $235.59. 867,244 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 5,754,296 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.22 and a 200 day moving average of $195.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors 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.