Bank of Montreal Can Has $280.73 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,369,926 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 109,243 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $280,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position 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. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $143.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.49. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.57 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.