Applied Materials’ (AMAT) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $250.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.2 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $17.12 on Friday, reaching $168.88. The company had a trading volume of 16,287,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,137,177. 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 capitalization of $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $190.88 and its 200-day moving average is $206.73. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $141.94 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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 net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by 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.