Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 0%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 0% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $178.51 and last traded at $177.58. 939,283 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,045,610 shares. The stock had previously closed at $177.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. 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 report on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $145.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.26.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,420 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 11,291 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,830,000 after buying an additional 1,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.