Allstate Corp Sells 651 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Allstate Corp cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,848 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 651 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,437,000 after buying an additional 11,825 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $7,274,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after buying an additional 9,527 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,130,000 after buying an additional 6,001 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.64.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of AMAT traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $219.84. 2,685,134 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,780,058. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.18 and a 52 week high of $225.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

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.