Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 45.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,841 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 11,429 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,316,269,000 after buying an additional 858,122 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,790,554,000 after acquiring an additional 318,445 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 81,151 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,679,355 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $945,464,000 after buying an additional 44,928 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $174.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $188.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $204.50. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.57 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.