Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Field & Main Bank

Field & Main Bank lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,115 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1 %

AMAT opened at $192.03 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $190.99 and its 200-day moving average is $207.30. The company has a market capitalization of $158.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.94 and a one year high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

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.