Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $195.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AMAT. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $145.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.91. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $144.12 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $117.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $319,000. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its stake in Applied Materials by 14.6% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 6,797 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,373,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 87.7% in the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $379,275,000 after buying an additional 877,133 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 57,229 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,563,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centric Wealth Management grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 19,113 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,584,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. 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.