Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Latitude Advisors LLC

Latitude Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,631 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.0 %

AMAT opened at $183.38 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $136.67 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

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.