StockNews.com Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. B. Riley dropped 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. Mizuho raised their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $233.86.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $187.58 on Friday. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $202.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $154.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results 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 firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. JT Stratford LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently 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.