Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $220.29.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $163.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $179.17 and a 200-day moving average of $199.78. The company has a market cap of $133.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $148.05 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.