Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 3.9% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMATGet Free Report) traded up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $220.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as high as $178.08 and last traded at $178.67. 1,411,254 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 6,982,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.96.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AMAT. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.24.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Applied Materials

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in Applied Materials by 435.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $144.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $160.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.00.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMATGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Applied Materials

(Get Free Report)

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.

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