Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,802 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 368 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased 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. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $186.00 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $190.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.13. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.94 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $153.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.24.

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.