Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Cut to $250.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $270.00 to $250.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.24.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $186.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $190.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 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. Applied Materials has a one year low of $141.94 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS 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 analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JT Stratford LLC grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.