Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Adam Sanders Sells 562 Shares of Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Adam Sanders also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, April 1st, Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.07 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $146.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.