Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $174.71 on Friday. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $144.57 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.