Leelyn Smith LLC Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Leelyn Smith LLC trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 369 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.1% of Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,495,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $154,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $382,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.2% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,466 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $8,249,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of 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, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $144.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $189.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.74. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.