Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Lowered to $179.00 at Morgan Stanley

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $179.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $17.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $168.88. The stock had a trading volume of 16,287,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,137,177. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $141.94 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JT Stratford LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 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.