Evercore ISI Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target cut by Evercore ISI from $260.00 to $250.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $170.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $140.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $190.75 and its 200-day moving average is $206.68. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 763.7% in the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,693,000 after purchasing an additional 33,664 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 6.6% in the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 5,913 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% during the third quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 10,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 9.8% during the third quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,165 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10.3% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,919 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,952 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.