RNC Capital Management LLC Has $1.60 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

RNC Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,854 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 495 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% during the third quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% during the third quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 28,027 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,880,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the third quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,389 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

AMAT stock opened at $208.00 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.00 and a 1-year high of $214.91. The stock has a market cap of $172.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.83.

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.