Avity Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

by · The Markets Daily

Avity Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,834 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,604 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 3.1% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $39,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $205.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 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 firm has a market capitalization of $169.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

About Applied Materials

(Free Report)

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.

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