Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Downgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn to Neutral

Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $200.00 target price on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. B. Riley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.65.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $195.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $156.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $170.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,640,000 after acquiring an additional 9,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,538,743 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $250,246,000 after acquiring an additional 13,667 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.