Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Quotient Wealth Partners LLC

Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,493 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $180.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.