Jacobs & Co. CA Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Jacobs & Co. CA trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,647 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,905 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $29,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $40,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.83.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $208.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.00 and a twelve month high of $214.91. The company has a market cap of $172.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $189.26 and its 200 day moving average is $161.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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.