Applied Materials’ (AMAT) Underweight Rating Reiterated at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reiterated their underweight rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $164.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $179.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on AMAT. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $173.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $142.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.52. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $185.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.17.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.51 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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dantai Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 8,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $20,257,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 257.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 265,560 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $53,656,000 after buying an additional 191,286 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 20,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,213,000 after buying an additional 4,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,493,000. 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.