Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Trimmed by KWB Wealth

KWB Wealth lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,681 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,302 shares during the quarter. KWB Wealth’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $173.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.84 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned 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 target price of $218.24.

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.