Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Holdings Decreased by Cohen Capital Management Inc.

Cohen Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 153,383 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,880 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 4.7% of Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Cohen Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,389,048,000 after acquiring an additional 456,865 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after acquiring an additional 570,080 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,968,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $687,936,000 after acquiring an additional 230,789 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,529,689 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $488,685,000 after purchasing an additional 32,622 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,831,986 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $458,980,000 after purchasing an additional 351,206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $189.46. The stock had a trading volume of 7,147,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,214,718. The firm has a market cap of $157.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $202.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.38. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.15 and a 12-month high of $214.91.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

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.