Family Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Family Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,430 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 206 shares during the quarter. Family Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 333.8% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $5.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $194.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,102,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,198,809. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.12 and a twelve month high of $214.91. The stock has a market cap of $161.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

About Applied Materials

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.