On February 15, 2023 at 13:44:18 (ET) an unusually large $2,392.00K block of Call contracts in Applied Materials (AMAT) was sold, with a strike price of $120.00 / share, expiring in 156 days (on July 21, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 3.63 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 100.00 percentile of all recent large trades made in AMAT options.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 3.80% Upside

As of February 14, 2023, the average one-year price target for Applied Materials is $122.94. The forecasts range from a low of $87.87 to a high of $147.00. The average price target represents an increase of 3.80% from its latest reported closing price of $118.44.

The projected annual revenue for Applied Materials is $24,715MM, a decrease of 4.15%. The projected annual EPS is $6.84, a decrease of 8.70%.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 2836 funds or institutions reporting positions in Applied Materials. This is an increase of 63 owner(s) or 2.27% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to AMAT is 0.45%, an increase of 1.80%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 0.15% to 771,631K shares. The put/call ratio of AMAT is 1.28, indicating a bearish outlook.

What are large shareholders doing?

Capital World Investors holds 34,656K shares representing 4.11% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 29,285K shares, representing an increase of 15.50%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in AMAT by 33.54% over the last quarter.

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 25,638K shares representing 3.04% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 26,015K shares, representing a decrease of 1.47%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in AMAT by 7.49% over the last quarter.

VFINX – Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 19,721K shares representing 2.34% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 19,554K shares, representing an increase of 0.85%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in AMAT by 6.08% over the last quarter.

Capital International Investors holds 18,120K shares representing 2.15% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 18,087K shares, representing an increase of 0.18%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in AMAT by 9.58% over the last quarter.

Geode Capital Management holds 15,911K shares representing 1.89% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 15,699K shares, representing an increase of 1.33%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in AMAT by 11.36% over the last quarter.

Applied Materials Declares $0.26 Dividend

On December 12, 2022 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share ($1.04 annualized). Shareholders of record as of February 22, 2023 will receive the payment on March 16, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.26 per share.

At the current share price of $118.44 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 0.88%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 1.32%, the lowest has been 0.59%, and the highest has been 2.76%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.54 (n=237).

The current dividend yield is 0.81 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.13. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.24%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Applied Materials Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Applied Materials, Inc. is the leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. Its expertise in modifying materials at atomic levels and on an industrial scale enables customers to transform possibilities into reality.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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