Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 0.9%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares dropped 0.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $206.89 and last traded at $207.63. Approximately 826,762 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 6,076,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 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.