Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 10,377 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,690 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,377 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the second quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $170.49 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $190.26 and its 200 day moving average is $206.19. The company has a market capitalization of $140.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.57 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

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.