Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 1.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded down 1.4% on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $217.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as low as $183.14 and last traded at $185.75. 1,382,557 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,059,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.47.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.86.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazari Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 15.8% in the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,521,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 51.0% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,812 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,788,000 after buying an additional 3,990 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $396,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $154.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $202.90 and a 200 day moving average of $210.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.