Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Trimmed by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 376,011 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,914 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.6% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $61,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 229.9% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 10,076 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after buying an additional 7,022 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 6,044 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,426,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 20,342.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 736,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $119,816,000 after purchasing an additional 733,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 72,592 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,806,000 after purchasing an additional 17,769 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.8 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $168.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $136.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $175.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 20.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials 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.