Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Cantillon Capital Management LLC

Cantillon Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,148,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 93,972 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 3.9% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.38% of Applied Materials worth $636,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted 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 worth $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 252.0% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,636,000 after buying an additional 11,165 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $170.73 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $190.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.68. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $140.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.