Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Increases Dividend to $0.46 Per Share

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.46 per share by the manufacturing equipment provider on Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. This is a 15.0% increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Applied Materials has raised its dividend payment by an average of 17.4% annually over the last three years. Applied Materials has a payout ratio of 15.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Applied Materials to earn $10.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.9%.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $149.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $147.88 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $173.69 and its 200-day moving average is $180.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Applied Materials stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

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.