Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Nwam LLC

Nwam LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after acquiring an additional 81,151 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,679,355 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $945,464,000 after acquiring an additional 44,928 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,839,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $906,134,000 after acquiring an additional 59,910 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $174.88 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.57 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.05.

About Applied Materials

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.