Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 2.6% - Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) fell 2.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $186.68 and last traded at $187.53. 1,529,275 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 7,088,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Nine 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.74.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $177.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.54. The company has a market cap of $149.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 13,475 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,467,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 47,374 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $8,673,000 after acquiring an additional 6,068 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 89,256 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $16,340,000 after acquiring an additional 11,961 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,605,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Delaney Dennis R bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $383,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.