Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,787 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,144 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,903 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 14,736 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,397,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 33,825 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,575 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $182.80 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $148.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.88.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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. Investors 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 yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.