Capital Advisors Inc. OK Sells 63,988 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,954 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 63,988 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.1% of Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Capital Advisors Inc. OK’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $56,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 30,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 9,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 5.3% during the third quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 34,736 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $183.38 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 50 day moving average price of $191.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $136.67 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS 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 posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

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.