Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,901 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,310 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 288,151 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $46,862,000 after purchasing an additional 7,197 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,148,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 13,787 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $321,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $180.89 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $175.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $147.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

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.