Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $210.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $220.00 to $210.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $173.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $142.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.52.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.