Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $270.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $275.00 to $270.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AMAT. UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $233.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $207.90 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $222.50 and its 200 day moving average is $210.02. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $172.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.31 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, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ecofi Investissements SA bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $11,265,000. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $855,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 232.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 195,903 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,232,000 after acquiring an additional 136,973 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $362,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 140.6% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.