Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $195.00. The stock had previously closed at $184.27, but opened at $174.84. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Materials shares last traded at $174.20, with a volume of 2,941,577 shares trading hands.

AMAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $141.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.