Running Point Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Running Point Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,792 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $170.49 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $190.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.19. The firm has a market cap of $140.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

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. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.