Evercore ISI Initiates Coverage on Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $260.00 price objective on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AMAT. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a hold rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $189.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $202.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. Applied Materials’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,020,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $134,555,000 after purchasing an additional 54,261 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 92.3% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,180 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Applied Materials by 21.7% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 8,981 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 12.6% in the first quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,215 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. 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.