Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Rating) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $141.79, but opened at $138.41. Applied Materials shares last traded at $140.25, with a volume of 621,712 shares.
Specifically, VP Timothy M. Deane sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.30, for a total transaction of $1,029,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 100,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,834,210.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, VP Timothy M. Deane sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.30, for a total value of $1,029,750.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 100,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,834,210.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 29,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $3,671,666.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $24,228,960.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cowen dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $279.00 to $271.00 in a research report on Friday, February 24th. BNP Paribas cut Applied Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $133.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 19th. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $126.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $118.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.96.
Applied Materials Trading Down 0.4 %
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 52.81%. The firm had revenue of $6.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.89%.
Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,020,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $134,555,000 after purchasing an additional 54,261 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 92.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,180 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 21.7% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 8,981 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $315,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 12.6% during the first quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,215 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. 75.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Applied Materials Company Profile
Applied Materials, Inc provides manufacturing equipment, services and software to the semiconductor, display and related industries. It operates through the following segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display & Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment includes semiconductor capital equipment for etch, rapid thermal processing, deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, metrology and inspection, wafer packaging, and ion implantation.
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