Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and nineteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $197.33.

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $207.86 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $109.00 and a 12-month high of $214.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.04 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

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.