Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Rating Increased to Buy at Edward Jones

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) was upgraded by research analysts at Edward Jones from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $146.99 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $173.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.06. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $145.37 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 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.