Catalina Capital Group LLC Has $412,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Catalina Capital Group LLC cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,534 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $178.80 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $145.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective 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, November 29th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.