Prabu G. Raja Sells 50,000 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $235.41 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $214.91 and a 200 day moving average of $193.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42. 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during 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 stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.