Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,563 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 43,342 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,024,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,970,000. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Finally, Slow Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.6 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $9.59 on Wednesday, reaching $199.89. The stock had a trading volume of 6,348,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,200,080. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $201.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.12 and a 1 year high of $214.91. The company has a market capitalization of $166.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

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.