Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $250.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $270.00 to $250.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.88 on Tuesday. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $141.94 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.98. The company has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $215,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.5% in the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 97,522 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $20,112,000 after purchasing an additional 10,802 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,184 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 57,383 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,834,000 after purchasing an additional 3,964 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.