Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.
Adam Sanders also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Monday, February 24th, Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12.
Applied Materials Stock Performance
Shares of AMAT stock opened at $135.51 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.79. The company has a market cap of $110.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.28 and a 12-month high of $255.89.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.05%.
Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 108.0% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,680 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 3,988 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 27.5% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.2% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 112.8% during the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD now owns 2,554 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 10,056 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,032,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.67.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on AMAT
About Applied Materials
(
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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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