Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Sells 368 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,802 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 368 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.24.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $186.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.94 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.