GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,787 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,144 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,316,269,000 after buying an additional 858,122 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after acquiring an additional 318,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $182.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $148.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho lowered 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials 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.