RAM Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

RAM Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. RAM Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $182.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.