Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target to $195.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $235.00 to $195.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $137.46 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.20. 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 has a market capitalization of $111.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. AA Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 9.4% in the first quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $355,000. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 75,814 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,002,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 24.8% in the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,422 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $1,528,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Materials

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.