Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is Cantillon Capital Management LLC's 4th Largest Position

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,148,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 93,972 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 3.9% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Applied Materials worth $636,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 57.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 46,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $9,542,000 after buying an additional 16,871 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.3% during the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 3,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2,690.4% during the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 439,829 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $90,706,000 after purchasing an additional 424,067 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $643,000. Finally, Payden & Rygel Investment Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $14,479,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $1.42 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $169.31. 8,649,215 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,158,373. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $139.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

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.