Perpetual Ltd Sells 4,392 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Perpetual Ltd cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 53.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,832 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,392 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing 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 and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $195.51 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $173.29 and its 200-day moving average is $189.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

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.