Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 109,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,560 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $22,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $169.35. 7,051,664 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,207,007. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.05 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $182.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $220.29.

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.