Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) shares fell 1.4% on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $217.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as low as $183.14 and last traded at $185.75. 1,382,557 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,059,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.47.
AMAT has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. B. Riley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.86.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.
Applied Materials Stock Down 0.7 %
The firm has a market capitalization of $154.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $204.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.80.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) 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 return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.
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.