Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 1.3% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $195.00 to $220.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as high as $201.11 and last traded at $199.72. Approximately 1,374,008 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 7,094,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.10.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Skye Global Management LP bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,640,000 after buying an additional 9,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,538,743 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $250,246,000 after buying an additional 13,667 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $159.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $173.69 and its 200-day moving average is $165.38.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. 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.