Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 320 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,753 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 320 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 2.3% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $1,514,814,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Applied Materials by 123.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $407,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,429 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after purchasing an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Applied Materials by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $441,514,000 after purchasing an additional 778,716 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $217.95. 5,804,009 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,812,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The company has a market cap of $181.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $205.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.10. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.18 and a 52-week high of $225.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.64.

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.