United Asset Strategies Inc. Sells 292 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,744 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 14,201 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter. First American Trust FSB bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $921,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 51,818 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,398,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Legacy CG LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Legacy CG LLC now owns 27,278 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 272,206 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $44,116,000 after acquiring an additional 67,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $209.48 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $201.54 and a 200-day moving average of $168.85. 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 12-month low of $109.00 and a 12-month high of $214.91. The firm has a market cap of $174.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

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.