Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Tower Bridge Advisors

Tower Bridge Advisors decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,025 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 675 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 98,484 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,899,000 after acquiring an additional 15,755 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,043 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,464,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 144.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 4,865 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,875 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 29,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,930,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 9.2 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.88 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.94 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $139.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials 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.