Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Raised to $142.00 at Morgan Stanley

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $139.00 to $142.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $139.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. They set an outperform rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. They set an outperform rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $161.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.7 %

AMAT opened at $152.57 on Friday. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $93.68 and a twelve month high of $157.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $140.25 and a 200-day moving average of $139.60. The stock has a market cap of $128.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.14. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.27% and a return on equity of 49.29%. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,907,690.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 3,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 31,565.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 555,090 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $80,233,000 after acquiring an additional 553,337 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 8,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 5,370 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% 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. It 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.