Brokerages Set Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Target Price at $208.86

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and seventeen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $208.86.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $150.71. The stock had a trading volume of 7,267,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,709,980. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $148.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.70. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $122.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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.