Mutual Advisors LLC Sells 524 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mutual Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,103 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 524 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after buying an additional 2,209,218 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 67.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 87.7% in the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $379,275,000 after purchasing an additional 877,133 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $186.75 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.