Adam Sanders Sells 271 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $165.54 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $372,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,972,000. H&H Retirement Design & Management INC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $338,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 31,787 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,169,000 after buying an additional 2,190 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,946,000. 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.