Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by West Coast Financial LLC

West Coast Financial LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,881 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,077 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after acquiring an additional 672,548 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $3,316,269,000 after purchasing an additional 858,122 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 318,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $186.22 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.20 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $173.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.24.

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.