Center for Financial Planning Inc. Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Center for Financial Planning Inc. reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.10.

Applied Materials Trading Down 8.2 %

AMAT opened at $169.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $175.44 and its 200-day moving average is $184.84. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.