TD Cowen Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $230.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target decreased by TD Cowen from $250.00 to $230.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.2 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $168.88 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.87. 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 1 year low of $141.94 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The firm 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 firm earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 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.