Mirabella Financial Services LLP Sells 25,358 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mirabella Financial Services LLP lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 141,916 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 25,358 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.9% of Mirabella Financial Services LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Mirabella Financial Services LLP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $28,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second 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 period. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted 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 worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $176.58 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $189.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.71. The firm has a market cap of $145.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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 return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for 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. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.