Cullinan Associates Inc. Sells 2,746 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cullinan Associates Inc. reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,746 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.9% of Cullinan Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $4.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.87. 366,231 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,070,120. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.75. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $155.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. 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.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

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.