RAM Investment Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

RAM Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $162,873,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 20.4% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,623,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $953,411,000 after purchasing an additional 784,780 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $182.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $151.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $194.71 and a 200-day moving average of $208.75.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

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.