Citigroup Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $170.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price reduced by Citigroup from $202.00 to $170.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the subject of several other reports. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $144.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $156.82 and a 200-day moving average of $172.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors 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.