Brokerages Set Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) PT at $218.24

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $218.95.

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 6,698 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $329,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 60,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,787,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 58,209 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,467,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 16,463 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,677,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $192.87 on Wednesday. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $156.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.