Compass Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,640 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Compass Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,175 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,640 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 2.2% of Compass Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Compass Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 11.0% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 8,633 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 4,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Beech Hill Advisors Inc. now owns 36,065 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares during the period. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 165,600 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,459,000 after acquiring an additional 43,000 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective 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. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Tuesday, September 17th. Susquehanna cut 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 note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $2.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $187.22. 3,885,325 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,072,433. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $195.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.