Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 0.1% – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $187.64 and last traded at $186.68. 727,674 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 6,065,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $153.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.40.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.