Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Decreases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,027 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,058 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 333.8% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 26,298 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $203.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $203.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.15 and a 12-month high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.