Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,742,283 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 112,900 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $554,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $170.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $140.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $190.26 and a 200-day moving average of $206.19. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

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.