Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,364 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,277 shares during the quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $213.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $177.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Company 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.