Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 1,130 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,130 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 608 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 22.3% in the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 11,935 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,175 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 63.4% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 344.7% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 20,945 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,232,000 after buying an additional 16,235 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,013 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $148.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.20 and a 200-day moving average of $185.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI reduced 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. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

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.