B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,364 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.4% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $243,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.90.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $203.26. 1,505,589 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,015,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $194.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.81. The company has a market capitalization of $168.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.