Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,557 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,940 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.
Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein 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 report on Friday, November 29th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.95.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Applied Materials
NASDAQ AMAT traded up $5.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $192.05. The stock had a trading volume of 8,101,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,337,131. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $156.78 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) 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 analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Applied Materials's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.
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.
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