Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $222.05.

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $2.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $172.03. The company had a trading volume of 2,905,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,159,619. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $189.57 and a 200 day moving average of $205.49. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd 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. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.