Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $229.14.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after buying an additional 7,094 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,939,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $194.09 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $191.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $141.61 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.98%.

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.