Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 1.1% - Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.1% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $181.25 and last traded at $181.11. 884,981 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 7,020,497 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.76.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $147.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $164.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.32.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in 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 often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first 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 Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% in the 1st quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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