Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Sells 4,000 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 47.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,479 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $163,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Prakash Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $390,000. ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 384,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $62,520,000 after buying an additional 90,146 shares during the period. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its stake in Applied Materials by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $260,221,000 after buying an additional 893,995 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $171.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $175.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.92.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Applied Materials 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.