Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Position Cut by Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 76.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,139 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 402,279 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded down $9.59 on Wednesday, hitting $199.89. 6,348,555 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,200,080. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.12 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $201.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.85.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a "hold" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.50.

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.