Tower Bridge Advisors Cuts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Tower Bridge Advisors lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,843 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 182 shares during the quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $158.07 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.95 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.03. The firm has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.