E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Sells 1,310 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,310 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% in the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 26,298 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $206.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,704,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,868,892. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.91 and a twelve month high of $214.91. The firm has a market cap of $171.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.