Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Has $309,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 72.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,900 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,069 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price 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. 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $183.66 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.17. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $149.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 1.86 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.