Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 2.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 2.4% on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $158.00 to $169.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as high as $187.27 and last traded at $188.25. Approximately 1,095,557 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 7,031,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.76.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.76.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased 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 directly owned 1,716,058 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.69. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $164.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 business posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.