Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Sells 339 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,542 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 339 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $211,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,274,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 9,527 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 31.2% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 164,751 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $22,810,000 after acquiring an additional 39,194 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $5.88 on Friday, reaching $203.38. 3,932,991 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,121,953. The company has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.15 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $203.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

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.