Morgan Stanley Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $179.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $179.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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, November 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Trading Down 9.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.88 on Friday. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $141.94 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $190.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.87. The company has a market cap of $139.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $2,645,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 52,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,801,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 218.9% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 825,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $170,182,000 after purchasing an additional 566,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 11,833 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.