Raymond James & Associates Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 828,677 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 16,501 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.10% of Applied Materials worth $170,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,430 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 65,408 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,981,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everett Harris & Co. CA increased its position in Applied Materials by 51.3% during the 1st quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 3,596 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price objective 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $205.26. 2,786,965 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,081,282. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $111.20 and a twelve month high of $214.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $203.53 and a 200 day moving average of $172.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

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.

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