Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $190.00. The stock had previously closed at $145.45, but opened at $137.82. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Materials shares last traded at $140.92, with a volume of 1,161,760 shares changing hands.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued 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 price target of $210.29.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Everpar Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 8.5% during the first quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 2,709 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,569 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 226,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,935,000 after buying an additional 21,974 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 42.3% in the first quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.0 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $154.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.64. 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 company has a market capitalization of $112.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.