Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Issues Q4 Earnings Guidance

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) updated its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.00-2.36 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.14. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.53-7.33 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $6.92 billion.

Applied Materials Stock Up 5.1 %

Shares of AMAT traded up $10.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $211.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,824,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,934,643. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $175.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company’s 50 day moving average is $222.98 and its 200 day moving average is $209.11.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley increased their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $225.40.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.