Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Holdings Lowered by Stanley Laman Group Ltd.

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,119 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 778 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 35,465 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,768,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,082,353,000 after purchasing an additional 84,130 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 6,972 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 39,811.1% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,921,000 after purchasing an additional 17,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,475,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $180.89 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. The company has a market capitalization of $147.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.87.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut 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 report on Friday, January 17th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.00.

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.