Foster & Motley Inc. Decreases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Foster & Motley Inc. decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,035 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $181.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $147.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $174.24 and its 200 day moving average is $187.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

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.