Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,560 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $22,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $32,266,000. Wahed Invest LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 12.6% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 20,059 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,053,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. Whitford Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $3,226,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Applied Materials by 18.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 59,700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,062,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $169.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.05 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.29.

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.