Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10, Zacks reports. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $3.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $184.27. 7,876,143 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,209,256. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.85. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $149.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.00.

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.