Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Cohen Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 154,385 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 590 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 4.2% of Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $25,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $14,669,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,241 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 9,803 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,594,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winebrenner Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $270,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given 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 target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $171.98 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.