Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Position Reduced by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 99.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,215 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 639,887 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 17,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,053,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $306,000. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,895 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $254,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 32.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,416 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,110,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $171.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.48 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid 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 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Company 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.