Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 27.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,106 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 11,142 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. JT Stratford LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Several research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.14.
Read Our Latest Report on AMAT
Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $2.06 on Friday, hitting $192.03. 4,767,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,360,265. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.94 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $158.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $190.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.98%.
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.
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