KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $225.00 target price on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.95.

View Our Latest Research Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $192.05 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.95. The company has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $156.78 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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