Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Evermay Wealth Management LLC

Evermay Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 26,375 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $567,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7,095.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 1,583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 8,655 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 5,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.64.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $2.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $220.89. 3,795,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,837. The stock has a market cap of $183.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $206.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.13 and a 12-month high of $225.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.32 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.