Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Trimmed by Bank Hapoalim BM

Bank Hapoalim BM trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,141 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its position in Applied Materials by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 37,742 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,138,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $4,337,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,276 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.1 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $178.56 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.