Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 1%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares were up 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $190.41 and last traded at $189.54. Approximately 717,517 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 6,056,140 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.00.

Applied Materials Trading Up 5.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $162.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.38.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued 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 0.81%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.