Analysts Set Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) PT at $201.50

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and nineteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $201.50.

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $3.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $209.73. The company had a trading volume of 3,499,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,843,440. The firm has a market cap of $174.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $113.91 and a fifty-two week high of $214.91. The business's fifty day moving average is $204.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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.