Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 837,692 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Parnassus Investments LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,432,124 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 837,692 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.5% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $693,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $170.73 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.68. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.57 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.