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

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $229.14.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $181.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,824 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 2,024 shares during the period. Olympiad Research LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 78.5% during the third quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 2,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 9.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,118,152 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $225,923,000 after acquiring an additional 96,009 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.