Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 867 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,010 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 867 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,434,684 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,720,928,000 after purchasing an additional 301,010 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,389,048,000 after buying an additional 456,865 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after buying an additional 570,080 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 25.1% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,609,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,388,933,000 after buying an additional 1,925,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $930,505,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $2.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $197.69. 2,016,231 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,142,266. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.12 and a 52-week high of $214.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.06.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

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.