Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) fell 0.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $184.44 and last traded at $185.22. 490,052 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 6,074,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $152.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $195.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.24.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $162,873,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,623,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $953,411,000 after purchasing an additional 784,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.