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. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a 15.0% increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Applied Materials has increased 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. 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 Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $146.99 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.06. The company has a market cap of $119.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Applied Materials stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

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.