Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 6.4% – Time to Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price traded down 6.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $198.15 and last traded at $200.13. 3,671,689 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 5,994,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $158.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.83.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. 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.