Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 114,094 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 24,186 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in 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 buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,070,167,000 after purchasing an additional 490,597 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after buying an additional 81,151 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,839,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $906,134,000 after buying an additional 59,910 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $171.87 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $190.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.19. 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 company has a market cap of $141.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. 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.