Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Position Lowered by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 687,969 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 144,393 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Applied Materials worth $139,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.2 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $168.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.94 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.73. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

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.