Diversified Trust Co Decreases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Diversified Trust Co reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,714 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after buying an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after buying an additional 164,085 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after buying an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Applied Materials by 62.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.75 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $180.23. 1,802,053 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,007,653. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.24 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.22. The company has a market capitalization of $146.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.29.

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.