Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Pathstone Holdings LLC

Pathstone Holdings LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,945 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,945 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $26,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JT Stratford LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $169.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $139.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.57 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $190.57 and its 200-day moving average is $206.44.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm 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. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.