JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $220.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.84.

Applied Materials Stock Down 14.1%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $161.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $215.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.71.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after acquiring an additional 391,540 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after acquiring an additional 407,282 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,635,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,525 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.