Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 2.4% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 2.4% during mid-day trading 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. 1,095,557 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 7,031,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.76.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $166.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication 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.