Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $171.32, but opened at $176.38. Applied Materials shares last traded at $176.02, with a volume of 1,009,104 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.48.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $146.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $188.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 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.