Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 56.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,791 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,270 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Mizuho decreased their price target 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. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $170.49 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.57 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The firm's 50-day moving average is $190.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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