Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,418 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 108 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% in the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,360,000 after buying an additional 7,094 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 17.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,069,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $190.56 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.37. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.61 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.