Meritage Portfolio Management Has $4.81 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,554 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 552 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in 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 period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $178.56 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $145.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.92.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

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.