Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $235.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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, September 17th. Mizuho dropped 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $228.90.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $201.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $167.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 336,595 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $68,009,000 after purchasing an additional 7,750 shares in the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the third quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. jvl associates llc increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.4% in the third quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 1,362 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 5.1% during the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,944 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 3,435 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by 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.