Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Prudent Man Advisors LLC

Prudent Man Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,366 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 277 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $168.88 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.94 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $190.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.87. The company has a market cap of $139.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.