By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) had its target price decreased by Needham & Company LLC from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.
A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.10.
Applied Materials Price Performance
Shares of AMAT opened at $169.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.50. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.
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.
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