Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Earns Hold Rating from Summit Insights

Summit Insights reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. B. Riley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $161.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $184.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.71. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $215.70. The stock has a market cap of $129.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 23.88%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.