Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 2.4% - Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) traded down 2.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $155.66 and last traded at $156.74. 1,479,471 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 6,863,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $150.36 and its 200-day moving average is $164.13.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business 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 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,085,600,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2,401.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $445,056,000 after buying an additional 2,944,193 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 43.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $808,853,000 after buying an additional 1,691,428 shares during the period. 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.