ING Groep NV Sells 65,701 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

ING Groep NV decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 294,285 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 65,701 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $59,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 7.3% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,184 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,131,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 7.4% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 57,383 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $11,834,000 after buying an additional 3,964 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $361,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,246,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded up $3.21 on Thursday, reaching $186.00. The company had a trading volume of 11,660,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,087,248. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.13. The company has a market cap of $153.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.94 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.24.

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.