First City Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First City Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,050 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.05.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

AMAT stock opened at $192.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.18. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.