Court Place Advisors LLC Has $1.48 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Court Place Advisors LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,088 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,285 shares during the period. Court Place Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $1.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $172.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,356,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,935,979. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $174.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.14.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.71.

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.