Simplicity Wealth LLC Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Simplicity Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 94.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,773 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 30,992 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,070,167,000 after buying an additional 490,597 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after buying an additional 81,151 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,061,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,194,520,000 after buying an additional 438,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,135,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $975,993,000 after acquiring an additional 384,534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $205.06 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $169.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $194.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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 net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley dropped their price target 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. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. 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, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.