Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,861 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,841,178,000 after buying an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after buying an additional 858,122 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after buying an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

AMAT traded down $0.91 during trading on Monday, hitting $170.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,306,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,554,082. The company has a market cap of $138.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.84 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $173.91 and a 200-day moving average of $192.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.24.

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.