Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 53,653 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 962,099 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 53,653 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.12% of Applied Materials worth $194,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. 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.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $3.76 on Wednesday, reaching $187.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,778,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,048,305. The company has a market capitalization of $155.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.72.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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 return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Applied Materials 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.