Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by FCG Investment Co

FCG Investment Co lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,669 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,746 shares during the quarter. FCG Investment Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $190.70 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.91. The company has a market capitalization of $155.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

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.