Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,324 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 191 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its position in Applied Materials by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after acquiring an additional 7,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 17.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,939,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $192.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $158.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.94 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $190.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.30. 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 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.98%.

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.