Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Outfitter Financial LLC

Outfitter Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 475 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.4% of Outfitter Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Outfitter Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Prakash Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $390,000. ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 384,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $62,520,000 after acquiring an additional 90,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $260,221,000 after acquiring an additional 893,995 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $176.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.92%.

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.