Citigroup Trims Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Target Price to $217.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $240.00 to $217.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. 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. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $232.00.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $186.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market cap of $154.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $200.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.38. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% during the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 9,805 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after acquiring an additional 5,592 shares during the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $13,521,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 51.0% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 11,812 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $419,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently 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.