Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Lessened by Pathstone Holdings LLC

Pathstone Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,945 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,945 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $26,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position 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 worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after buying an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $169.31 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $139.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $190.57 and its 200-day moving average is $206.44. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.57 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for 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. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 issued 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Applied Materials Company 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.