Barclays Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $200.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.95.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $192.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $156.78 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 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.