Twin Capital Management Inc. Sells 65 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Twin Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,449 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd 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 shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley upped their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $5.60 on Thursday, hitting $194.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,210,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,152,933. The business’s fifty day moving average is $202.12 and its 200 day moving average is $169.06. The company has a market cap of $161.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59. 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 52 week low of $109.12 and a 52 week high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

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.