Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 233,104 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,873 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $37,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 37,541 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,084,000 after purchasing an additional 6,655 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 129,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $20,952,000 after buying an additional 16,799 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 43,342 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,024,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,970,000. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $5.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $194.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,102,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,198,809. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.12 and a 52-week high of $214.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Company 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.