Financial Security Advisor Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,414 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 128 shares during the quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $191.18 and a 200 day moving average of $207.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio 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.