Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Raised to $202.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $194.00 to $202.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $176.04 on Tuesday. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $143.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.