XML Financial LLC Sells 172 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

XML Financial LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,623 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $221,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 70.9% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 31,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,526,000 after purchasing an additional 13,234 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.1% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,407 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 13,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,286,000 after acquiring an additional 5,524 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,490,874 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $351,831,000 after acquiring an additional 117,793 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.95.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $156.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $173.17 and its 200-day moving average is $190.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.