Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Buy” Rating

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $195.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho dropped 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, January 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $145.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $117.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.91. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $144.12 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Field & Main Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Mezzasalma Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.