Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Boston Common Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 54.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,550 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 49,155 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its stake 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. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price 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 issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.41.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $192.05 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $156.78 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $173.10 and its 200-day moving average is $191.61. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.