Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Plan Group Financial LLC

Plan Group Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 760 shares during the quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,887 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 12.5% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 59,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,966,000 after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.8% during the third quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 25,897 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,088 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 17.2% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 120,355 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $24,318,000 after purchasing an additional 17,668 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $181.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $195.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.93. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. B. Riley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

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.