Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 6.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded down 6.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $205.00 to $195.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as low as $161.92 and last traded at $163.23. 7,204,232 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 6,845,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.75.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.48.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.3%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.49. 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 $134.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.