Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 1.8% Higher - Should You Buy?

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) rose 1.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $172.80 and last traded at $172.85. Approximately 991,114 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 6,939,911 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.6%

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $153.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.15. 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 market cap of $138.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company'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 transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $11,640,000 after buying an additional 9,672 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.