Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Lountzis Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 7.3% of Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Hardy Reed LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd. raised its position in Applied Materials by 984.7% during the 4th quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 105,783 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $17,204,000 after buying an additional 96,031 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 356,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $58,042,000 after buying an additional 20,299 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 203.6% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 41,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,674,000 after purchasing an additional 27,523 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 37,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,060,000 after purchasing an additional 6,365 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $174.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.05. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

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.