Malaga Cove Capital LLC Has $737,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,646 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,155 shares during the quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. MGB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $206,000. Concord Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $379,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 98.7% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 312 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 31,326 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $187.52 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.69 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $191.07 and its 200 day moving average is $207.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $154.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

About Applied Materials

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.