Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 0%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price traded down 0% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $208.38 and last traded at $208.44. 451,915 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 6,589,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.83.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $189.26 and its 200 day moving average is $161.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,568,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 454,273 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $73,624,000 after acquiring an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,245,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cape ANN Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank now owns 19,071 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.