Stifel Financial Corp Reduces Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 770,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 18,248 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.09% of Applied Materials worth $155,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,951,000 after buying an additional 1,006,937 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 87.7% in the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $379,275,000 after buying an additional 877,133 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after acquiring an additional 858,122 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.0 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $172.03 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $186.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $203.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.76.

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.