Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 2.6% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Applied Materials' share price has decreased by 2.6% during trading, falling to a low of $177.58, with a significant decline in trading volume of 82% compared to the average session.
• Recent analyst reports have adjusted their target prices for Applied Materials, with Stifel Nicolaus setting a new target of $195.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 2.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $177.58 and last traded at $178.10. 1,334,948 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 7,232,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.09.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $144.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $180.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 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 1.0%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,951,691 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,455,716,000 after buying an additional 291,358 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,140,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,995 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,656,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,038,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,635 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,085,600,000. 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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