Palmer Knight Co Sells 450 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Palmer Knight Co reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,872 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 3.4% of Palmer Knight Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $57,000. PFG Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 42.7% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 2,554 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Hansen & Associates Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $3,245,000. Algebris UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 205,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $42,278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benedetti & Gucer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.5 %

AMAT stock opened at $194.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.61 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.37. The firm has a market cap of $160.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS 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 period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

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.