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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $199.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $219.18 and a 200 day moving average of $196.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JT Stratford LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% in the first quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.