Jacobs & Co. CA Sells 1,905 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Jacobs & Co. CA trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $29,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $40,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $208.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $172.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.00 and a 52-week high of $214.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $189.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James raised their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.83.

Applied Materials Company 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.