Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Lowered to $170.00 at Citigroup

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $202.00 to $170.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $144.94 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $156.82 and its 200 day moving average is $172.48. Applied Materials has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $117.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.