Short Interest in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Rises By 6.6%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,710,000 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the October 15th total of 15,680,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $17.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $168.88. 16,287,484 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,981,500. The company has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $141.94 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $190.88 and a 200 day moving average of $206.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. 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 note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.81.

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.