Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 0.7%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $240.87 and last traded at $241.51. 923,130 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 5,694,533 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $222.00 and a 200-day moving average of $197.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.56. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during 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 revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued 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 0.66%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JT Stratford LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, F M Investments LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.9% during the first quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.