Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,695 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $180.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $174.48 and its 200 day moving average is $186.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. One 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

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.