Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $280.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $255.00 to $280.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. 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 target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $220.04.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $247.83 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $205.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $213.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.68. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,598,500 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Applied Materials by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,226,581,000 after acquiring an additional 224,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 3.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after acquiring an additional 360,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,389,048,000 after acquiring an additional 456,865 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.