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 trading hands.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AMAT. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. B. Riley cut their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $2,645,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 52,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,801,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 218.9% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 825,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $170,182,000 after acquiring an additional 566,516 shares during the period. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 11,833 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,440,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $191.00 and its 200 day moving average is $206.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.