Brokerages Set Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target at $229.14

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $229.14.

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% in the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after purchasing an additional 7,094 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,939,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,069,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.63. The firm has a market cap of $151.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials has a one year low of $136.67 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 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 company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.98%.

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.