Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Blume Capital Management Inc.

Blume Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,476 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.8% of Blume Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Blume Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,427 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $207.35. The stock had a trading volume of 302,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,841,704. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $204.09 and a 200 day moving average of $175.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.91 and a twelve month high of $214.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

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.