Summit Global Investments Sells 5,518 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Summit Global Investments cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,913 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,518 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $194.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market cap of $160.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.61 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.37.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 0.82%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.