TruNorth Capital Management LLC Sells 755 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

TruNorth Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,362 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 755 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.74. The stock has a market cap of $137.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. 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 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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 return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 currently 20.92%.

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.