Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Reduced by Oak Harvest Investment Services

Oak Harvest Investment Services cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 47.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,164 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 9,307 shares during the quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,994,968,000 after buying an additional 371,866 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,316,269,000 after acquiring an additional 858,122 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,790,554,000 after acquiring an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $181.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.55. 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 stock has a market cap of $147.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company 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 revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. One equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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