JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 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.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $165.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $149.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.49. Applied Materials has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $134.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.