Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Redmond Asset Management LLC

Redmond Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 523 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Friday, November 29th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of 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 increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

AMAT stock opened at $171.98 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio 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.