Gold Investment Management Ltd. Has $5.46 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Gold Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,447 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 2.3% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley cut 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $193.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $191.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.37. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.94 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

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.