Asset Dedication LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Asset Dedication LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $84,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during 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 buying an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,070,167,000 after buying an additional 490,597 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after buying an additional 81,151 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,061,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,194,520,000 after buying an additional 438,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $183.24 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $151.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $195.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.36. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its 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. 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 last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.