Dundas Partners LLP Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Dundas Partners LLP reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 99.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,148 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 234,918 shares during the period. Dundas Partners LLP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.05.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.3 %

AMAT stock opened at $197.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

About Applied Materials

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.