Plan Group Financial LLC Sells 760 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Plan Group Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 760 shares during the quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $181.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $195.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.93. The company has a market capitalization of $150.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid 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 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.