Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 332,826 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,464 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $55,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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, KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $184.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.85. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $149.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 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.