Aviance Capital Partners LLC Sells 643 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 643 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,480,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,464,000 after buying an additional 793,610 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $441,514,000 after purchasing an additional 778,716 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 142.4% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,140,314 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $176,029,000 after purchasing an additional 669,898 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after buying an additional 570,080 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $834,710,000 after buying an additional 511,357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $207.32. The stock had a trading volume of 3,200,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,937,529. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $204.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.05. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $112.86 and a 1 year high of $214.91. The stock has a market cap of $172.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.