Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Reduced by Riverstone Advisors LLC

Riverstone Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,979 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 0.9% of Riverstone Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Riverstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded up $3.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $208.68. 1,903,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,170,413. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.00 and a twelve month high of $214.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

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.