Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Holdings Lessened by Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.

Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,130 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.1% of Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 55,620 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,045,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 7,736 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 206,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Finally, First Community Trust NA lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 40,258 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,547,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.24.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $178.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.84 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $145.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.