Callahan Advisors LLC Has $12.24 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Callahan Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 8.2 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $169.20 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $175.31 and a 200-day moving average of $184.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.10.

Applied Materials 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.