Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) to Hold

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $210.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $215.00.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Applied Materials from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $201.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $217.49 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $180.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.58. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $120.18 and a 1-year high of $217.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 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.