Mengis Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 369 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Haverford Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 3,348 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 9.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 134,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,075,000 after purchasing an additional 30,673 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.24.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $186.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 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 company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.88 and a 200 day moving average of $207.30.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

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.