Arjuna Capital Cuts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Arjuna Capital decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,888 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 8,396 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.0% of Arjuna Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Arjuna Capital’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its stake 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.7 %

Applied Materials stock traded down $3.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $183.44. 584,776 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,029,150. The company has a market cap of $151.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.94 and a twelve month 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $190.88 and a 200-day moving average of $207.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.24.

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.