AIA Group Ltd Cuts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

AIA Group Ltd trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,670 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,454 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. JT Stratford LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $194.09 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $191.07 and its 200 day moving average is $207.37. The stock has a market cap of $160.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.61 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.