Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Increases Dividend to $0.46 Per Share

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.46 per share by the manufacturing equipment provider on Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a 15.0% increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Applied Materials has increased its dividend payment by an average of 17.4% annually over the last three years. Applied Materials has a payout ratio of 15.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Applied Materials to earn $10.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.9%.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $149.99 on Tuesday. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $147.88 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $121.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Applied Materials stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.