Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Tower Bridge Advisors

Tower Bridge Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,843 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 182 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $158.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.95 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $175.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.03.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.