Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 3.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 3.9% during 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 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 research firms have also recently weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.7%

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 $143.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $159.66 and its 200-day moving average is $162.88.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.