First Horizon Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,391 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 826 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Swedbank AB grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,094,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after acquiring an additional 7,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $175.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

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.