Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $210.00. The stock had previously closed at $186.00, but opened at $168.34. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Materials shares last traded at $173.00, with a volume of 4,259,897 shares traded.

Several other research firms have also commented on AMAT. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.81.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $191.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.98. The company has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.98%.

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.