Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Cut by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,629,617 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 523,280 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.06% of Applied Materials worth $1,403,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $175.62 and its 200-day moving average is $183.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $137.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

About Applied Materials

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.