Mizuho Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $210.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target reduced by Mizuho from $220.00 to $210.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $171.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $148.48 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $139.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $173.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 17,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,053,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $306,000. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.1% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,416 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.