Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 1.5%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $237.82 and last traded at $235.59. 867,244 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 5,754,296 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $194.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $216.53 and its 200 day moving average is $194.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC grew 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 buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.