Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 2.2%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares traded down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $190.91 and last traded at $192.48. 2,264,372 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 6,049,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.00.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5 %

The company has a market cap of $158.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $199.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 139.0% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,024,083 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $241,673,000 after acquiring an additional 595,594 shares during the last quarter. KP Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,360,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 132.7% in the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 9,805 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after acquiring an additional 5,592 shares during the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,521,000. 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.