Brokerages Set Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target at $229.14

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

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna cut their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.6 %

AMAT opened at $186.48 on Friday. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $139.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $191.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Haverford Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.4% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 3,348 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 134,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,075,000 after purchasing an additional 30,673 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.