Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Grassi Investment Management

Grassi Investment Management cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 276,251 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 4.8% of Grassi Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Grassi Investment Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $55,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $773,611,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $162,873,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,623,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $953,411,000 after purchasing an additional 784,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $182.70 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $151.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $194.71 and a 200-day moving average of $208.75.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Tuesday, September 17th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.