Amalgamated Bank Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 214,344 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,954 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $34,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 795.0% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 26,298 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $3.92 during trading on Thursday, reaching $197.91. 3,472,824 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,021,777. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.95. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $111.72 and a 12-month high of $214.91. The firm has a market cap of $164.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The company 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

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.