Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,456 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.24.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.73 on Thursday, hitting $185.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,340,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,044,357. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.13. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.94 and a 1 year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given 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 yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.98%.

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.