Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Gap Down on 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.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.29.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Applied Materials by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,663,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $111.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership 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.