Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Holdings Cut by Leuthold Group LLC

Leuthold Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,035 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.9% of Leuthold Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $207.61. The stock had a trading volume of 470,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,905,739. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $112.86 and a 52-week high of $214.91. The company has a market cap of $172.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

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.