Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $182.57 and last traded at $184.11. 1,541,575 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 6,071,538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.2 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $194.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.75. The stock has a market cap of $151.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.