Intellectus Partners LLC Sells 227 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Intellectus Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,906 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,480,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,464,000 after acquiring an additional 793,610 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $441,514,000 after acquiring an additional 778,716 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after acquiring an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13,929.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 515,028 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $834,710,000 after acquiring an additional 511,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 117.6% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 926,917 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $128,341,000 after acquiring an additional 500,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded up $5.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $203.38. The company had a trading volume of 3,933,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,553,379. The company has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.15 and a 12-month 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 price of $203.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

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.