Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $229.14.

Several analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $205.06 on Monday. Applied Materials has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $194.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.74. The company has a market cap of $169.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.