Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Position Trimmed by Maple Capital Management Inc.

Maple Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,869 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,941 shares during the quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,939,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $183.39 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $151.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $195.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.11.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.