Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s 9th Largest Position

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 296,913 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.5% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $48,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.43.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.6 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $6.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,988,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,362,340. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $174.14 and a 200 day moving average of $193.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.48 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.