Capital Performance Advisors LLP Sells 64 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Capital Performance Advisors LLP decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,406 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $192.99. 815,331 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,041,119. The company’s 50 day moving average is $191.07 and its 200 day moving average is $207.37. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.94 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 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.