Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 3,080 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,823 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,080 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,184 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.4% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 57,383 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,834,000 after buying an additional 3,964 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $361,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $182.79 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.94 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $150.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.24.

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.