Mather Group LLC. Cuts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mather Group LLC. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,726 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,402 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 63,499 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,291,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 10,783 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after buying an additional 1,498 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 107,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $17,490,000 after acquiring an additional 9,906 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 12,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1,152.5% during the 4th quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 130,412 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,136,000 after acquiring an additional 120,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $200.88 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $166.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.90.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.90.

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.