Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 0.3%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price was down 0.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $233.08 and last traded at $235.21. Approximately 1,284,822 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 5,751,144 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $196.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $218.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.10.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,437,000 after buying an additional 11,825 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,274,000. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,527 shares in the last quarter. 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.