Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Lowered to $170.00 at Susquehanna

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective lowered by Susquehanna from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.19.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $0.67 on Monday, hitting $189.23. The stock had a trading volume of 449,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,031,047. The company’s 50-day moving average is $190.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.42. Applied Materials has a one year low of $141.94 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $156.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Applied Materials by 252.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 3,389 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 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.