Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc

Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,065 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 1.2% of Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JT Stratford LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.93 on Friday, hitting $205.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,050,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,002,417. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $169.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $194.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

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.