Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Trimmed by Trinity Legacy Partners LLC

Trinity Legacy Partners LLC lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 367 shares during the period. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $194.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The company has a market cap of $160.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $191.07 and a 200-day moving average of $207.37. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.61 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

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.