Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $201.50.

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $189.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $157.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.59. Applied Materials has a one year low of $109.15 and a one year high of $214.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,505,000. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $76,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 79,147.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,726,422 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $557,639,000 after acquiring an additional 5,719,196 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 25.1% in the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,609,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,388,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,722 shares during the last quarter. 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.