Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives $220.29 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $220.29.

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 341.0% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 262.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $379,275,000 after purchasing an additional 877,133 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $167.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $179.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $136.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $148.05 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.