Nvwm LLC Sells 1,143 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Nvwm LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,201 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,143 shares during the quarter. Nvwm LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 6,539 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $333,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 617,454 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $102,893,000 after buying an additional 22,694 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $178.56 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $174.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.92. The firm has a market cap of $145.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.