Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 1,130 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,130 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.00.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $183.20 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $175.20 and its 200-day moving average is $185.04. The stock has a market cap of $148.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

About Applied Materials

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.