Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 61.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,784 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JT Stratford LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 2nd 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 period. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $192.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $159.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $198.35 and a 200-day moving average of $210.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.