Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Sells 402,279 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 76.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $9.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $199.71. The stock had a trading volume of 3,707,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,162,718. The company’s 50-day moving average is $201.54 and its 200 day moving average is $168.85. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.12 and a 12-month high of $214.91. 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 company has a market capitalization of $165.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio 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.