Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 990,281 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 71,910 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.6% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Applied Materials worth $233,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $198.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.18. The firm has a market cap of $159.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. 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%.

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.