Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 0.5% – Time to Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price traded down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $164.34 and last traded at $165.09. 1,108,598 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 6,852,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $149.52 and its 200 day moving average is $165.12. The company has a market cap of $134.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,663,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,055,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 31,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,107,000 after buying an additional 10,459 shares in the last quarter. 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.