Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) PT Lowered to $185.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $224.00 to $185.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $232.00.

Applied Materials Trading Up 5.7 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $196.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $199.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.