Citigroup Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $217.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target lowered by Citigroup from $240.00 to $217.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley lowered their price target 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, StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $232.00.

Applied Materials Trading Up 5.7 %

AMAT stock opened at $196.71 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $199.38 and its 200 day moving average is $210.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $162.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.