Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) was down 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $184.94 and last traded at $187.34. Approximately 922,750 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 6,057,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $190.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $150.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.