Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 3.2%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price traded up 3.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $212.15 and last traded at $203.62. 2,474,769 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 6,074,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $162,873,000. 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.