Nwam LLC Sells 76 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Nwam LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $174.88 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $189.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.57 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $144.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.