Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Cut to $210.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price cut by Bank of America from $220.00 to $210.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Trading Down 9.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $17.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $168.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,287,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,137,177. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $141.94 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.73.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

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

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.