QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,914 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 376,011 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,914 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.6% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $61,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $168.51 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $175.59 and a 200-day moving average of $183.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

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.