Short Interest in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Increases By 6.6%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,710,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the October 15th total of 15,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.81.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,311 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Savoie Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Savoie Capital LLC now owns 87,695 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $17,719,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares during the period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $374,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 690,160 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $139,447,000 after purchasing an additional 355,926 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $168.88 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $139.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $141.94 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $190.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 39.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.52 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, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.