Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 11,757 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 469,148 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 11,757 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $76,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Pictet & Cie SA increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 59,198 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $9,584,000 after purchasing an additional 4,599 shares during the last quarter. First Merchants Corp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 6,269 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $932,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,306 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded up $2.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $172.00. The company had a trading volume of 10,416,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,723,199. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $139.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.