Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Cut to $220.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $235.00 to $220.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the subject of several other research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.2 %

AMAT traded down $17.12 on Friday, hitting $168.88. 16,287,484 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,137,177. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $190.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.73. 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 has a twelve month low of $141.94 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 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 the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $773,611,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 341.0% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 67.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Applied Materials by 262.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.