Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 183 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,565 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 183 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $174.55 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The business’s 50-day moving average is $189.57 and its 200-day moving average is $205.49. The company has a market capitalization of $143.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered 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, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

Applied Materials Company 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.