Brokerages Set Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Target Price at $224.84

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $224.84.

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $196.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $228.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.23. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $162.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.