Summit Global Investments Sells 5,518 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Summit Global Investments decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,913 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,518 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. JT Stratford LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd 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. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $194.09 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $191.07 and a 200-day moving average of $207.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a market capitalization of $160.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.61 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 17.98%.

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.