Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Scott & Selber Inc.

Scott & Selber Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,722 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.35. The company has a market capitalization of $123.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.67 and a twelve month 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 (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho dropped 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, January 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.