Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by West Coast Financial LLC

West Coast Financial LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 34.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,881 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,077 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third 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 boosted its position in shares of 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 grew its stake 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 worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price target 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.24.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.5 %

AMAT traded up $8.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $186.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,822,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,264,388. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.20 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $173.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.65. The firm has a market cap of $151.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company 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%. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.