JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $170.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. They issued an outperform rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $161.29.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $152.57 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $140.25 and its 200 day moving average is $139.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $93.68 and a 12 month high of $157.76. The stock has a market cap of $128.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,907,690.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Savoie Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $8,590,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $140,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 167,868 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $23,241,000 after buying an additional 10,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 206.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 444 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% 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. 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.