Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Decreases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,823 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,080 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JT Stratford LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $182.79 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.94 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $150.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $190.88 and its 200 day moving average is $207.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.24.

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.