Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,647 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,104 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,428 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,481,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 499.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 92,857 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,150,000 after buying an additional 77,357 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 547,753 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $112,963,000 after acquiring an additional 80,740 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,495,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $170.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $190.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.19.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

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.