Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 2.4% – Still a Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price rose 2.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $189.20 and last traded at $188.18. Approximately 1,184,173 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 6,072,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $193.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 0.86%. 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 the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 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.