Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $157.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.08.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,006,828 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $405,480,000 after buying an additional 232,317 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 154,975 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,313,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 1,869 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC now owns 2,369 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 34,564 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,984,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. 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.