KCM Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,500 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 8.0 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $14.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,679,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,091,060. The stock has a market cap of $141.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.94 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $191.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Company 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.