Bill Few Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bill Few Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,055 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 990 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $195.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $159.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.91. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.