Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Harbor Island Capital LLC

Harbor Island Capital LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 11.0% 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 177,409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 21,840 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 17.0% of Harbor Island Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Harbor Island Capital LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $35,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 89.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,121,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,939,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $3.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $186.36. 5,680,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,100,299. The business's 50 day moving average is $195.71 and its 200-day moving average is $209.36. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.