Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 2.9%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price dropped 2.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $174.55 and last traded at $175.06. Approximately 1,782,119 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 6,025,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $211.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.29. The firm has a market cap of $145.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid 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 (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,514,814,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 123.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,699,000 after buying an additional 1,092,429 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.