Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives $222.05 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $222.05.

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% during 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 during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after buying an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its position in Applied Materials by 252.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 3,389 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $171.32 on Tuesday. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $141.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.