Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 3.4% - What's Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) traded down 3.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $165.91 and last traded at $166.90. 3,520,886 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 6,980,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $135.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $158.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.17.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents 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 at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in Applied Materials by 435.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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