Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by GraniteShares Advisors LLC

GraniteShares Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,910 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,110 shares during the period. GraniteShares Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $930,505,000. Cowa LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $76,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 79,147.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,726,422 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $557,639,000 after buying an additional 5,719,196 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 25.1% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,609,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,388,933,000 after buying an additional 1,925,722 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 63.9% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,892,930 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $562,685,000 after buying an additional 1,517,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of AMAT traded up $3.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $209.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,748,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,197,840. The firm has a market cap of $174.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.00 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $200.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.34.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

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.