Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 2.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) was down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $245.00 to $225.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as low as $190.91 and last traded at $192.48. Approximately 2,264,372 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 6,049,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.71.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. B. Riley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $369,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 110,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,969,000 after buying an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

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 firm has a market cap of $159.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $198.35 and its 200-day moving average is $210.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

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.