Needham & Company LLC Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $225.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target cut by Needham & Company LLC from $240.00 to $225.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AMAT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, B. Riley cut 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $168.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.87. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $141.94 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors 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.