Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shot up 1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $187.80 and last traded at $184.45. 1,958,066 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 6,077,594 shares. The stock had previously closed at $182.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $194.71 and its 200-day moving average is $208.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $152.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.7% in 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. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $243,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 17.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,939,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $3,069,000. Institutional investors 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.