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

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $232.00.

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.14 on Thursday. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.38. The firm has a market cap of $154.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 5.4% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Balentine LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 19,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 3,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.