Shayne & Jacobs LLC Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Shayne & Jacobs LLC cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,705 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 954 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 0.9% of Shayne & Jacobs LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Shayne & Jacobs LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $165.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $134.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Company 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.