Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 1.1% Higher

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) traded up 1.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $225.07 and last traded at $220.55. 1,524,864 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 5,768,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $218.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.64.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 11,825 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,274,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 9,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $6,130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.