Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Tower Bridge Advisors

Tower Bridge Advisors cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,025 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 675 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $168.88 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.94 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $190.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The company 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 firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.