Moors & Cabot Inc. Sells 175 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,897 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $170.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.57 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $190.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.19.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

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.