Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 1.3%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $178.55 and last traded at $176.95. 1,704,811 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,041,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.42. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $145.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors 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 yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Lazari Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $13,521,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 51.0% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,812 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,990 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $419,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $396,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.