Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Adam Sanders Sells 450 Shares of Stock

by · The Markets Daily

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) 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 value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Adam Sanders also recently made the following trade(s):

  • On Monday, February 24th, Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12.

Applied Materials Stock Down 8.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $135.51 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.28 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $163.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.79. The firm has a market cap of $110.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

Read Our Latest Report on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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