Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Adam Sanders Sells 562 Shares

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Adam Sanders also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, April 1st, Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

AMAT traded up $2.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $183.07. 5,425,035 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,012,412. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.00. The firm has a market cap of $146.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. 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.

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