Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Reduced by Invesco LLC

Invesco LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. Invesco LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $174.71. 1,069,392 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,590,156. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

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.