Lincoln National Corp Cuts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Lincoln National Corp cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,045 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 610 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $207.36 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $112.86 and a 1-year high of $214.91. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $204.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.05. The company has a market capitalization of $172.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. This is a boost 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 currently 18.82%.

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.