Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Reaches New 1-Year High at $155.26

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $155.26 and last traded at $154.99, with a volume of 256156 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $153.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Bank of America boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Friday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 19th. Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $152.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.08.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $144.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $124.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 49.29% and a net margin of 24.27%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,907,690.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,869,568. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,907,690.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1,666.7% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 212 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $28,000. Mcmillion Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 173.9% in the 1st quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 252 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It 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.