Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $199.48.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Applied Materials by 435.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $157.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $150.15 and its 200-day moving average is $164.60. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

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.