Ritholtz Wealth Management Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,557 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,940 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $230,158,000 after buying an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 653,739 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of AMAT traded up $5.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $192.05. 8,101,765 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,337,131. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $173.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.95. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.78 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.95.

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.