Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Rating Reiterated by Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $180.00 target price on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Applied Materials from $139.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Applied Materials from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $161.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $152.57 on Friday. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $93.68 and a 52-week high of $157.76. The stock has a market cap of $128.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.59. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.60.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 16.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,907,690.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Mcmillion Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Steward Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 173.9% in the 1st quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 252 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. 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.