Argent Capital Management LLC Sells 8,976 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Argent Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 507,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 8,976 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 2.3% of Argent Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Argent Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $82,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $13,722,000 after buying an additional 21,699 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $218.24.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $8.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $186.48. The company had a trading volume of 10,773,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,258,960. The company has a 50 day moving average of $173.25 and a 200 day moving average of $191.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.20 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.