Insider Selling: Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Insider Sells $12,458,500.00 in Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $232.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $249.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $215.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.47.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.