Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Evermay Wealth Management LLC

Evermay Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,242 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 899 shares during the quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $577,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $379,275,000 after buying an additional 877,133 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $180.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.06. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. 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 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

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.