Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 837,692 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,432,124 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 837,692 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.5% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Applied Materials worth $693,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $170.73 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.57 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $140.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $190.75 and a 200-day moving average of $206.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. B. Riley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.