Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,269 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 626 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 252.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 3,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $186.00 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.13. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.94 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $153.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.