Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 22nd

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.46 per share by the manufacturing equipment provider on Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. 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% per year over the last three years. Applied Materials has a dividend payout ratio of 15.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 Trading Down 2.0 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $146.99 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $173.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $145.37 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Applied Materials stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Bank of America dropped 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.