Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 0%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) was down 0% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $208.38 and last traded at $208.44. Approximately 451,915 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 6,589,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $208.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.83.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $189.26 and a 200 day moving average of $161.58. The company has a market cap of $172.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,568,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 454,273 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $73,624,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,245,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Cape ANN Savings Bank raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank now owns 19,071 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,133,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.