Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Coverage Initiated at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $260.00 target price on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the topic of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a hold rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.8 %

AMAT opened at $209.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $174.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $201.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.85. Applied Materials has a one year low of $109.00 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 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 firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other 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.