Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Lowered to $170.00 at Susquehanna

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target cut by Susquehanna from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.19.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $189.23. The stock had a trading volume of 449,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,031,047. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.42. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $141.94 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.