Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 49,155 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 54.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,550 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 49,155 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Merriman Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the second quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. Mizuho lowered 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced 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 research report on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.41.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $5.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $192.05. The stock had a trading volume of 8,101,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,337,131. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $173.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.30. 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 52-week low of $156.78 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.