Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) to Issue $0.40 Quarterly Dividend

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 13th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the manufacturing equipment provider on Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd.

Applied Materials has raised its dividend by an average of 11.9% annually over the last three years. Applied Materials has a dividend payout ratio of 16.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Applied Materials to earn $9.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.0%.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

AMAT opened at $206.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $221.68 and its 200-day moving average is $210.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.