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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $196.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $218.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 is presently 18.39%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, 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. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.