Montag A & Associates Inc. Sells 37,233 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Montag A & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 43.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,767 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 37,233 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $991,000. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 4,436 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 115,198 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $18,735,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $302,000. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 5,358 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.46 on Wednesday, hitting $174.06. The stock had a trading volume of 5,791,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,703,077. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market cap of $141.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $175.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.05.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target 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. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

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.