Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given New $190.00 Price Target at Barclays

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $200.00 to $190.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.10.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $169.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $175.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.84. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during 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. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. 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.