Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Lessened by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 64.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,858 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 19,474 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 5.3% during the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $4.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.98. 7,364,128 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,722,227. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 20.92%.

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.