Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,070 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

AMAT stock opened at $183.20 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $148.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $175.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” 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 assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.