Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,689 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,264 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 2.8% of Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 10.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,070,167,000 after buying an additional 490,597 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after buying an additional 81,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after buying an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $190.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.30. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.94 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $158.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.