Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given New $160.00 Price Target at Barclays

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $190.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $150.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.95 and a 200 day moving average of $169.16. The firm has a market cap of $122.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 24.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $259,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,447 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 200.4% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896 shares in the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 37.8% during the first quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 34,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,008,000 after purchasing an additional 9,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 27,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,037,000 after buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.