Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Has $516,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 447 shares during the quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the third quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $172.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $175.31 and its 200-day moving average is $184.12. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $139.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.