Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Heritage Financial Services LLC

Heritage Financial Services LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,514 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 452 shares during the period. Heritage Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $773,611,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 126.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 262.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $162,873,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $194.71 and a 200-day 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. The company has a market cap of $152.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Applied Materials Company 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.