Smith Group Asset Management LLC Sells 60 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,836 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during 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 during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $172.85 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 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 firm has a market capitalization of $140.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.