Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 0.8% Higher

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 0.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $240.50 and last traded at $239.30. 737,854 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 5,734,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $237.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.0 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.13 and its 200 day moving average is $197.19. The company has a market capitalization of $201.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. JT Stratford LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 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.