Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.46

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, June 10th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.46 per share by the manufacturing equipment provider on Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st.

Applied Materials has a payout ratio of 18.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Applied Materials to earn $10.07 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.3%.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.98 on Wednesday, hitting $172.79. 6,129,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,963,445. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. 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 has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $153.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.15.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased 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 trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Applied Materials stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

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.