Brokerages Set Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) PT at $233.14

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $233.86.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $187.58 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $202.90 and a 200-day moving average of $210.70. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JT Stratford LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 5.6% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.3% during the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 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.