Insigneo Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Insigneo Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,052 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 846 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $173.02 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.17. The company has a market capitalization of $142.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.52. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 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.